


A Trip(up) in Time

by Colonel_Edd



Series: Fixed Points [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bad Wolf, Companion Ianto Jones, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Season One Doctor Who rewrite, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, seriously slow burn, space travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2020-08-11 12:42:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 68,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20153767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colonel_Edd/pseuds/Colonel_Edd
Summary: What if Ianto Jones accidentally got kidnapped by a time traveler when looking for a place to hide? This is the story of a young Welshman travelling across the stars and through time itself along with a bubbly blonde, a rugged Captain and their somewhat grumpy designated driver.





	1. He Picked a Good Hiding Place

He had only been working here for three weeks and something was already trying to kill him, Ianto thought hysterically as he ran for his life through the burning corridors of Torchwood Tower. Work for me, she had said, it’s better than a life of dead end jobs, she said. Well Yvonne Hartman could stick her job offer up her arse for all he cared. He would rather live a boring life than an exciting one for two minutes before he was killed by a screaming pepper pot or a tin man with handlebars and flares. 

Working for Torchwood was like something out of a film, not only were aliens real but they had visited Earth before. They were the first defence, he’d been told during his induction, Canary Wharf is what stood between the realm of men and the alien invaders above. He hadn’t thought they were serious until an army of tin men started chasing him, “Shit!” He was cornered, they’d run him into a dead end. He could hear their mechanical stomping coming closer and closer.

They were going to take him for ‘upgrading’ whatever that meant and Ianto had a sneaking suspicion they weren’t talking about his car or phone contract.

He hadn’t done anything with his life, he thought as he frantically searched the storage room for something to defend himself with, or somewhere to hide, twenty one years he’d been on this earth and he hadn’t left a single mark. He doubted anyone would even attend his funeral, his parents dead and his sister resented the air he breathed. Looks like she wouldn’t have to worry about that for much longer though.

“Shit” he hissed as the metallic stomping paused outside the door, eyes darting to the out of place police box in the corner as the doors creaked open. 

It was better than hiding behind a crate, he told himself as he lunged inside the box, at least in here he’d be able to stand up. The windows were frosted over so he could see out of them as he pulled the door closed, he couldn’t even see through the keyhole and trust him he tried.

Pressing his ear to the door, Ianto tried to focus on the muffled sounds he could hear coming from outside the box but was startled when a noise sounded from behind him. It was a sort of mechanical sound, a soft whirling groan if you will and when he turned around in what he had thought to be a small wooden box, Ianto got the surprise of a lifetime.

“What the-,” he blinked several times but the sight in front of him didn’t change, “How…” this thing, wherever he was, wasn’t possible, “Okay, bigger on the inside” he swallowed nervously as he took a few shaky steps forward. Alien, this was obviously alien. The room had a large control unit in the middle and several corral like columns sprouting from the floor all the way up to the domed ceiling. The walls were covered in round… things, the purpose of which eluded Ianto as he walked up a small ramp and around the central console to find a worn out seat pointed at a monitor which was currently blank.

“Okay,” He looked around, knowing full well that he definitely shouldn’t be in here but unwilling to go back outside to his death, Ianto took a deep breath and ventured further inside the bizarre bigger on the inside box and found himself walking down a fight of stairs. Of course this alien box had stairs in it, why wouldn’t it? There was a maze of corridors each branching out in a different direction and Ianto let the lights lead him, “Woah!” He pulled his hand back from touching one of the walls when it pulsed under his palm, sending a shock wave through him. He hadn’t been expecting that, “Hello?” He called out as he continued following the light, “Is anybody in here?”

The corridor eventually opened up into a huge room that had several mezzanine layers going up over fifty feet, the walls were covered from top to bottom with racks upon racks of clothing and shoes. Several sets of draws and free standings mirrors were dotted around as well but perhaps the most ridiculous thing Ianto saw was a large crate filled with unpaired socks, all of them upon further inspection being odd.

He didn’t get the chance to ponder the strangeness for long however as the floor beneath his feet shifted suddenly, sending him tumbling into a rack of sports wear in a big ungraceful heap. The shaking and jolting didn’t stop there though, in fact every time he even attempted to stand up he was thrown back on his arse into a different pile of clothing.

Once the shuddering and jostling stopped, he was sure his body would be covered in bruises and his head was pounding as a result of banging his it multiple times on an assortment of hard surfaces. From there it was a long walk back to the central room he’d first found himself in which took him twice as long to find as he’d thought it would but there was one slight difference this time in that he wasn’t alone.

“Hello?” A man with tear stained cheeks span around dramatically at the sound of his voice and looked a little lost for words, “I’m sorry, uh, I’m Ianto and-”

“How did you get in here?” The man demanded, eyes turning from clearly devastated to furious in a heartbeat, “You can’t be here, we’re in flight.” He waved his hands at him, “That is, that is physically impossible! How did you find me again?”

“That’s what my mam used to say, I’m an impossible thing me” Ianto found himself rambling, not processing what had just been said, which he recognised as extremely out of character for him but then again he had just knocked his head a few times so that might have something to do with it, “I know I’m probably not supposed to be in here, only it was a choice between hiding out in here and letting those things outside drag me away. When I heard the door creak open I didn’t really think, had no idea all this was packed inside and-”

“You’re Torchwood?” The man glared at him coldly, “Oh I should have known- hang on” he stopped mid sentence as he stared at Ianto, looking him up and down slowly as he started to realise what was happening, “We haven’t met before, have we?”

“Uh, no” Ianto thought he would have remembered meeting this man before, he was bonkers, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“I’m the Doctor” he introduced himself and Ianto suddenly realised just how much shit he was in. The Doctor, enemy number 1, at least that’s what he’d been told on his first day, “And I’m taking you home”

Ianto didn’t understand what was happening as the Doctor started flipping switches and hammering things on the central console but he wasn’t about to ask as he was once again knocked off his feet. Hanging off a conveniently placed metal railing this time for dear life as the whole room vibrated around him, “What’s happening? What are you doing?” The Doctor didn’t reply, instead gesturing to the doors once the room settled again, “You can’t go out there, those things are probably still hanging about”

“Come on,” The man’s face was stony as he pushed the doors open, hooking Ianto by the collar of his shirt as he shoved him out of the doors, “Have a nice life Mr Jones, I’m sorry”

Nothing made sense, Ianto watched, jaw almost completely unhinged as the blue box winked out of existence right in front of his eyes. That wasn’t the only impossible thing though, they’d moved. How, he had no idea, but they had. It was impossible, he was no longer in the storage room, or even in the tower for that matter, he was on a beach in the middle of god knows where. A box that was bigger on the inside, an alien that was Torchwood’s number 1 enemy and what he could only try an rationalise to himself as an optical illusion, he had so many questions and absolutely no answers.

There was one question niggling in the back of his mind though, louder than the rest, screaming at him. 

How did The Doctor know his last name?


	2. Little Lord Fauntleroy

Ianto had to wait eleven months until he crossed paths with The Doctor again, and what a bizarre eleven months they were. The beach he’d been left stranded on? Jericho, Vancouver, the United States of America.

2011.

Five years in his future, five years gone in the blink of an eye all thanks to The Doctor. He’d been declared legally dead, a casualty of the terrorist attack at Canary Wharf in 2006. His body had never been found.

No shit.

From there he had no idea what to do with himself, he was lost until GeoComTex scooped him up. An American company owned by a Mister Henry Van Statten, GeoComTex was the world’s leading electronics company and officially specialised in computing products while off the books also owning the internet and scavenging alien technology that fell to Earth.

It was Ianto’s job to find these items and reverse engineer them to make Mr Van Statten a lot of money. It wasn’t particularly rewarding work since Mr Van Statten was possibly the biggest prick he’d ever met and used the technology to his own benefit but it kept him off the streets and under the radar so to speak. 

He was almost a full year into his employment before he met up with the Doctor again, only it wasn’t the same Doctor and he had a girl with him Ianto hadn’t met last time. He knew it was the same man though, his eyes held twin storms to the ones he’d stared into aboard the blue box. He may be wearing a different face but Ianto figured he was an alien so what did it matter?

Van Statten was his main priority right now, he couldn’t very well start badgering The Doctor with questions when his boss was expecting him to show off the new artefacts he’d bought at auction on his behalf, “Well,” held the small device gently in his hands, “you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel-”

“I really wouldn’t hold it like that.” The Doctor interrupted

Goddard, Van Statten’s newest lap dog, tried to silence him, “Shut it.”

The alien ignored her and insisted, “Really, though, that’s wrong.”

Curiosity piqued, Ianto did the one thing a person should never do in the company on Henry Van Statten, he focused his attention on someone else, “Is it dangerous?” The Doctor hadn’t shown any sign of recognition towards him so he could only assume the man had a plan of sorts

“No, it just looks silly.” He reached for the device but stopped halfway as all the guns in the room were pointed at him, only standing down when Van Statten flicked his wrist and handed him the device with a curious look, “You just need to be,” Ianto watched with a sense of childlike wonderment as he stroked the artefact and made it emit a musical note, “Delicate.” 

He played several more and when Ianto looked over he saw his boss was actually smiling, it made him feel cold inside, “It’s a musical instrument.”

“And it’s a long way from home.” The Doctor added

Snatching it out of the mans hands, Van Statten confidently fiddled with the device, “Here, let me.” But his touch was far too harsh and failed to produce any sound 

“I did say delicate.” The Doctor coached, “It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision.” He smiled when Van Statten finally got the hang of it, “Very good. Quite the expert.”

“As are you.” Ianto winced as he casually tossed it aside, on the floor of all things, when he had a desk full of space right in front of him, “Who exactly are you?”

The man introduced himself, confirming Ianto’s suspicions, “I’m the Doctor. And who are you?”

“Like you don’t know.” Van Statten scoffed, “We’re hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake?”

“Pretty much sums me up, yeah.” The Doctor grinned like a loon

“The question is, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplice. You’re quite a collector yourself, she’s rather pretty.” He leered at the mans accomplice and Ianto had to look away as he bit his tongue

“She’s going to smack you if you keep calling her she.” Ianto couldn’t help but look up with a small quirk of the lips at the sound of that, good on her

The smile was soon wiped from his face however as his boss laughed, “She’s English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend.”

“This is Mister Henry Van Statten.” Ianto introduced the most famous man in the world, also the biggest bellend he’d ever had the misfortune to meet, he’d worked here for eleven months and Van Statten still couldn’t be bothered to learn the difference between England and Wales.

“And who’s he when he’s at home?” The English girl asked

Ianto used the line he’d been told specifically to use by Mister Van Statten himself if ever given he opportunity to gloat, “Mister Van Statten owns the internet.” 

“Don’t be stupid.” The English girl rolled her eyes, “No one owns the internet.”

Smiling smugly, Van Statten nodded, “And let’s just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?” 

“So you’re just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum.” The Doctor raised his eyebrows, “Anything you don’t understand, you lock up.”

“And you claim greater knowledge?” Van Statten challenged him

Ianto could feel the air getting thicker around him and wondered how long the pissing contest was going to last this time, the record before his boss got security to drag the ‘threat’ away was 3 minutes but he was rooting for these two, “I don’t need to make claims, I know how good I am.”

‘And yet, I captured you.” Van Statten fired back, “Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there? “

“You tell me.” The Doctor shrugged

Van Statten locked their eyes, “The cage contains my one living specimen.”

“And what’s that?”

“Like you don’t know.”

“Show me.”

“You want to see it?”

The English girl interrupted bravely making Ianto hide a small smirk as she echoed his sentiments entirely, “Blimey, you can smell the testosterone.”

“Goddard,” Van Statten snapped his fingers, “inform the Cage we’re heading down. You, English.” He snapped again at Ianto, “Look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet.”


	3. Throw your A Levels at ’em?

Rose was actually quite a lovely girl and had no problem keeping up with him as Ianto explained his situation, “So, you know the Doctor?” She asked as Ianto cleaned his workshop up a bit, Ianto had brought her here after Van Statten and The Doctor went off on their little date and boy did he have a strange story up his sleeve, “And he just dumped you here?” That didn’t sound like him, she thought to herself, not entirely trusting her captor

“Well,” Ianto hedged, “I don’t know him very well, I only spoke to him for a few minutes but I’ve been inside the box, it’s bigger on the inside” she seemed a little more convinced now he’d mentioned the box, “I was looking for a place to hide. Aliens were attacking London and I assume he was there to help. I hid in the box and when he found me he dumped me on a beach,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I just want to go back to my own time, I don’t belong here”

“Hey, it’s alright” Rose reached out and held his hand with a comforting smile, “I’m sure the Doctor will help, wherever he is right now”

He wasn't proud of it but after a little pleading from Rose, Ianto ended up taking her down to the cage, bluffing his way through security by acting like he belonged when in actual fact he’d never been down two floors below the surface, let alone fifty. How he wished he would have stayed upstairs with Rose, chatting and fiddling with tech but no, he’d allowed her to convince him to take her down to their most probable deaths.

If he’d known what Van Statten had locked up in the cage he would have run for the hills which was ironic seeing as that’s what he was doing now anyway.

The creature he recognised all too well from the battle of Canary Wharf was hunting him once again, at least this time he had a name for it. Dalek. Rose just had to touch it and wake it up fully, didn’t she?

“Stairs!” Rose sounded ecstatic and Ianto didn’t understand why for a second until it clicked

“That’s more like it.” He laughed breathlessly, “It hasn’t got legs. It’s stuck!”

“It’s coming!” De Maggio, the soldier tasked with getting them out alive, barked, “Get up!”

They ran up a flight and stopped to look back down at the Dalek, Ianto wanted to keep going but Rose had a tight grip on his arm, “Great big alien death machine” she whispered to him, “defeated by a flight of stairs.”

“Now listen to me.” De Maggio had her gun trained on the eyestalk, “I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate then I can guarantee that Mister van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops right now. The killing stops. Have you got that?” She asked, “I demand that you surrender. Is that clear?” 

The Dalek was silent for a beat before speaking in it’s grating monotone, “Elevate.”

“Oh shit” Ianto breathed as it started levitating, defying the laws of gravity as it came right for them, he hadn’t seen them do that at London

“Jones, get her out of here.” De Maggio ordered him even as he argued that she should come too, that she couldn’t stop it, “Someone’s got to try. Now get out! Don’t look back. Just run.”

It broke Ianto’s heart to leave her behind, they weren’t particularly close, had only spoken a couple of times in the whole period of his employment but as he ran away with Rose and heard De Maggio’s screams he was ashamed to admit he didn’t even know her first name. She had just sacrificed herself for them and he didn’t even know her name.

“Ianto you’ve got to keep running, it’s right behind us” Rose pulled on his arm when Ianto came to a halt without even realising it, “Come on”

It was London all over again, the Dalek was going to kill everyone. The Doctor had to stop it, that’s what he did. Ianto had read up on him since coming here, accessed files hidden deep in the servers, barely eligible scraps but they all pointed towards the Doctor saving the day. He’d seen it himself at London, if a little late, the man had still stopped the two Alien races from turning the entire planet into their battle ground. 

The Doctor would save them, that’s just what he did, Ianto was sure of it.

Snapping out of it, he grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her round the nearest corner, “We need to get to the loading bay, we can get upstairs from there” he knew this place off by heart, had studied and memorised the blueprints within his first week. If Van Statten was half as clever as he thought he was then he’d realise he needed to initiate lockdown, that meant they needed to use the west gate, the doors there shut 15 seconds later than the main ones while on backup power. They were going to need every second they could get, “This way”

They both froze as they entered the bay, over fifty guards pointing guns at their heads, “Hold your fire,” the captain ordered, “You two get the hell out of there”

Rose pulled him to a stop by the doors as the Dalek halted on the other end of the room but Ianto wasn’t keen to get shot and dragged her along with him, “Are you mad?” It was like she wanted to get herself killed

“It was looking at me.” She told him as they continued to run, the echoes of gunfire and shouting following them

“Yeah, it wants to slaughter us.” He kicked open a side door and led her up some more stairs

“I know,” She panted, “but it was looking right at me.”

“So? It’s just a sort of metal eye thing.” He didn’t want to think the Dalek was chasing them specifically, he didn’t want to think at all really, “It’s looking all around.” He just wanted to get through this in one piece

Rose was falling behind and Ianto was tempted to throw her over his shoulder, “I don’t know. It’s like there’s something inside, looking at me, like, like it knows me” Ianto was going to urge her to try hurry up when her phone started ringing, then to his ultimate surprise she answered it, “This isn’t the best time.” Understatement of the century “Level forty nine.” 

“You’ve got to keep moving.” The Doctor told her on the other end of the line, “The vault’s being sealed off up at level forty six”

Rose picked up her pace, “Can’t you stop them closing?”

The Doctor denied her, “I’m the one who’s closing them. I can’t wait and I can’t help you. Now for God’s sake, run.”

“Run” Rose repeated to Ianto, looking up the stairwell anxiously before looking down to see the Dalek was still following them, close behind, “Come on” she burst through a door after Ianto and followed him down a concrete corridor, “We’re nearly there Doctor. Give us two seconds.”

Ianto startled as a klaxon sounded overhead, watching the bulkhead start to lower in front of him, “Shit, Rose” he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, “Come on!” They were so close. He reached the bulkhead first, rolling underneath with inches to spare, “Rose!” Ianto got to his feet and slammed his open palm against the sealed vault, “No, Rose!”

He’d left her, she was going to die and it was all his fault. He had to get up to Van Statten’s office, if he could get up there he could get them to open the door, maybe Rose had somehow gotten away, he needed to go back for her, she couldn’t be dead

The Doctor was waiting for him looking like a vengeful god, “You were quick on your feet,” he pushed him back, almost knocking him to his feet, “leaving Rose behind.”

Not resorting to violence even if the mental image of this man with a bloody nose was tempting to make reality, Ianto sniped back at him, “I’m not the one who sealed the vault!” He was about to demand they open the doors again to try and get her out, if she was even alive, when Van Statten’s computer suddenly lit up showing them the image of the Dalek holding Rose captive

“Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies.” It demanded

The Doctors eyes cleared slightly of their murderous fog, “You’re alive!”

“Can’t get rid of me.” Rose tried her best to smile on screen but even then it was a weak attempt

He thought he’d killed her, “I thought you were dead.”

The Dalek interrupted the beautiful reunion, “Open the bulkhead!”

Rose had other ideas, “Don’t do it! 

“What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?” The Dalek goaded the Doctor

The timelord shook his head at Van Statten, “I killed her once.” He went over to the computer, “I can’t do it again.” He opened the bulkhead and the Dalek went through with Rose

“What do we do now, you bleeding heart!” Van Statten shouted, “What the hell do we do?”

Ianto rubbed the back of his neck and offered a solution, “Kill it when it gets here.”

“All the guns are useless,” Goddard crossed her arms, “and the alien weapons are in the vault.”

Eyebrows shooting up, Ianto couldn’t believe nobody had thought to check his workshop, “Only the catalogued ones” for a room full of geniuses they weren’t all that smart

His workshop wasn’t far, a five minute walk that they managed in a one minute sprint. Ianto directed The Doctor over to his crate of weaponry that he’d been saving, “Here, any of this stuff-”

“Broken.” The Doctor started throwing around weapons that Ianto had spent a small fortune on at auctions, “Broken.” He picked another one up and gave Ianto a look as if he’d just dribbled down his shirt, “_Hairdryer._ What have you got all this stuff for anyway, shouldn’t it be locked up with the rest of your boss’ precious artefacts?”

“Mister Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff,” Ianto winced, “and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day.” 

“What,” The Doctor laughed at him, “you in a fight? I’d like to see that.”

Glaring at the man, Ianto continued digging through his crate of tech, “I could do, I have done”

“What’re you going to do, throw your A-Levels at ‘em?” He snatched a big looking cannon from the bottom of the pile, “Oh, yes. Lock and load.”

Fishing into the reduced pile of weapons Ianto picked out the twin of The Doctors gun, “Let’s go get her then”

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and gave him a baffled look, taking the gun from him, “You’re not coming with me”

“The more time we spend arguing with each other the longer Rose is stuck with that thing,” Ianto snatched his weapon back, “I already killed her once,” he echoed the Doctors words, “I can’t do it again” that did the trick


	4. The Dalek’s Destruction

”I’m begging you, don’t kill them.” Rose was attempting to talk down the Dalek in the lift on the way up to Van Statten’s office, “You didn’t kill me.”

“But why not?” It asked, “Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I?” It repeated, “What am I?”

The lift doors pinged open and Rose tried not to feel scared when she didn’t see the Doctor waiting for her, “Don’t move. Don’t do anything. It’s beginning to question itself.” Where the hell was he?

“Van Statten.” The Dalek approached him menacingly, “You tortured me. Why?”

“I wanted to help you. I just, I don’t know. I was trying to help.” The man was rambling, clearly terrified, a sight Ianto would later regret he missed, “I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you. I wanted you better- I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I swear, I just wanted you to talk!”

The Dalek backed him up against the wall, “Then hear me talk now. _Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!”_

“Don’t do it! Don’t kill him!” Rose touched the Dalek, “You don’t have to do this anymore. There must be something else, not just killing. What else is there?” She asked, desperate, “What do you want?”

The Dalek looked from Rose to Van Statten and them back again before making its demands, ”I want freedom.”

Freedom? Rose asked herself, it just wanted to be free? All this time Van Statten had kept it locked up, chained away in the darkness, tortured it for his own amusement. Well, Rose thought to herself, it’s time to set it free. She told Van Statten to stay with Goddard and took the Dalek out into the nearest hanger where it blasted a hole in the roof. Letting a shaft of sunlight stream down onto them, “You’re out.” She smiled, “You made it.” She turned to bask in the light, “I never thought I’d feel the sunlight again.”

“How does it feel?” The Dalek asked before doing something Rose couldn’t have predicted in a million years. 

Whirling mechanically the outer armour started to open, letting her see inside where a one-eyed alien squid looking thing resided. It held out a tendril and basked in the sunlight peacefully. Rose watched with awe as the creature blinked up at her

She was so busy staring at the Dalek that she didn’t hear the two men running towards her, “Get out of the way!” The Doctor startled her, pointing a gun in her direction, or rather at the Dalek she was stood in front of, “get out of the way now!”

Ianto was next to him, a gun in his arms as well looking equally threatening, if not more as she didn’t know the lengths he would go to, “No.” she stood further in front of the Dalek, protecting it, “I won’t let you do this.”

“That thing killed hundreds of people.” Ianto tried to reason with her, “It tired to kill us, all they know how to do is destroy, they killed everyone” they ruined his life, murdered innocent people at Canary Wharf and then again here today, did she have any idea the pain and destruction this one single Dalek was capable of? They couldn't allow it to go free.

“It’s not the one pointing the gun at me.” Rose told them both coldly and after a beat, Ianto lowered his weapon slightly but not completely, he may not trust her or the vile creature she was trying to protect but she hadn’t done anything wrong, he didn't want to hurt her.

The Doctor didn’t lower his own weapon, if anything his grip tightened, “I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to end it.” He told her angrily, “The Daleks destroyed my home, my people.” He was almost shouting, “I’ve got nothing left.”

Stepping to one side, Rose let him see, “Look at it.”

And see he did, though it made no sense. It was as if everything he had ever been raised to believe had just been turned on its head. What he was seeing couldn't be real, it just couldn’t. Clearly confused, The Doctor asked, “What’s it doing?” Daleks weren’t peaceful, it should have tried to kill him the moment he’d shown himself but it was just sat there, not doing anything at all.

“It’s the sunlight,” Rose pleaded, “that’s all it wants.”

“But it can’t” he argued as Ianto stared at the squishy being, feeling sick as he looked at the thing that had caused so much suffering and pain.

“It couldn’t kill Van Statten, it couldn’t kill me.” Rose reasoned, “It’s changing. What about you, Doctor?” She looked at him as if she could hardly recognise him, “What the hell are you changing into?”

“I couldn’t-” he said with emotion, his whole world turning upside down, the walls he’d been building up for years to protect himself crumbling by his feet all because of this wonderful, trusting, pure earth girl, “I wasn’t-” he lowered his weapon as well, his hearts beating loudly in his ears, “Oh, Rose.” He blinked away tears, “They’re all dead.”

“Why do we survive?” The Dalek croaked, effectively ruining their moment

“I don’t know.” He told it

“I am the last of the Daleks.” It said and Ianto found himself thinking the monster deserved it, to be alone even as the Doctor was caving next to him

“You’re not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you.” The Doctor dropped his gun to the ground, “You’ve absorbed her DNA. You’re mutating.”

“Into what?” The Dalek demanded, already feeling the change

The Doctor apologised, “Something new. I’m sorry.”

Not understanding, Ianto stepped forward, “Something new? Something better?” Did that excuse it from the destruction it had caused before? For all the lives it had taken in cold blood?

But the Doctor shook his head, “Not for a Dalek.”

“I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness.” The Dalek sounded like it was in pain, “Rose, give me orders! Order me to die!”

What? Rose shook her head, “I can’t do that.” She couldn’t order it to kill itself, how was that different to letting the Doctor and Ianto blast it to pieces?

“This is not life.” The Dalek looked up at her, “This is sickness. I shall not be like you.” It demanded, “Order my destruction!” It got louder, “_Obey! Obey! Obey!_”

Could she? Rose didn’t want to, she didn't think she could be responsible for this creatures death but looking into it’s single pain fulled eye she knew she didn't really have a choice. With tears in her eyes, Rose forced out the words, “Do it.”

“Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?” The Dalek asked her, as it had done earlier

Breath hitching, Rose blinked away tears and changed her answer, “Yeah.”

“So am I.” it closed its eye, “Exterminate.”

Ianto dropped his gun and jumped over the one The Doctor had dumped on the floor, pulling Rose back when The Dalek closed up it’s armour. Watching as it lifted into the air, “What’s it doing?” No one answered him as the balls that decorated the Daleks lower body spread out around it, creating a forcefield before imploding safely. Leaving no trace it was ever even there, “Oh,” Ianto felt Rose grab his hand as she wiped her tears. It did as it was told.

-

Much to The Doctors annoyance, Ianto followed them back to the Tardis once the army showed up to raid the building, Van Statten’s memory being wiped as Goddard took over the operation and dumped in in the middle of nowhere as fitting punishment for everything he had done to both his employees and the rest of the United States citizens, that just left Ianto to try and hitch a lift before the whole place got filled with concrete.

“What are you following us for?” The Doctor frowned at him once he realised Ianto was following after them, “Don’t you have a life to get back to?”

Ianto stared at the man for a second before something clicked, “Have we met yet?” Suddenly the fact the Doctor didnt seem to know who he was made a lot more sense, “Do you recognise me?” the man had a time machine, what’s to say they’d even met yet for him. This could be a younger version of the man who accidentally kidnapped him and left him stranded on that beach all those months ago. 

If the Doctors face was anything to go by, he was having similar thoughts, “I have no idea who you are,” he cocked his head to one side with a forced smile, “best not tell me anything”

Holding his hands up in surrender, Ianto nodded towards the blue box, “I just need a lift”

“I thought you said you’d met him?” Rose frowned

The Doctor explained, “He’s met me, I just haven’t met him yet. At some point in my future I’ll meet a past version of him, time travel can do your head in sometimes”

“You’ll help him right?” Rose asked, “Since you dropped him off at the wrong time in the first place”

“Of course,” The Doctor opened the door to the Tardis and waved them both inside, “One trip home coming up, where am I taking you?”

“London, 2006, May the 7th” Ianto gave him the date after the attack just to be safe and felt his breath catch when he entered the box again, “Still weird”

“That’s the Tardis for you” Rose smiled as she pulled him along up the ramp, unknowingly giving him a name for the box, “Are you sure you want to go home?” She asked, “You could always come with us?”

“Ah, no” Ianto beat the Doctor to it, taking the words right out of his mouth, “Just home for me thanks, I’ve had enough adventure for a while.”


	5. The Walls are Made of Gold

Ianto had been expecting a somewhat turbulent ride home but when the ship jerked violently to the left and The Doctor started chanting ‘no’ over and over again as he hit buttons frantically, he figured something was wrong. The sparks coming off the centre console didn’t help much, neither did the ominous sounds the ship was making around him

“Where are we?” Ianto asked once everything eventually settled down, he had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't back in London.

“Less of the questions would you? You’re giving me a headache” the Doctor headed for the doors, “Now stay here while Rose and I take a look”

Still clinging onto the railing, Ianto watched as the Doctor followed Rose out the doors and shut them firmly behind him. Not one to sit idle, he rushed to the closed doors and listened to their muffled argument over whether or not to investigate or to simply take him home as promised. Despite only just having met her, Ianto wasn’t surprised that Rose won, opening the door with a bright smile, “Ianto? Out you come.”

Stepping out of the doors, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. He knew the Tardis moved through time and space but walking out of the doors into somewhere so obviously from the future was something else, “Oh, my God.” He grinned, “This is amazing, where are we?” He figured home would still be waiting for him later

“Good question.” Rose took a look around, “Let’s see. So, er, judging by the architecture, I’d say we’re around the year two hundred thousand.” She told him importantly, as if the Doctor hadn’t just fed her all the answers beforehand, “If you listen… Engines. We’re on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station.” She pulled at her collar, “It’s a bit warm in here. They could turn the heating down.”

“You know,” Ianto said conversationally when the two idiots shared a smile like they were getting away with something, “those doors are made of wood, I could hear him telling you where we were but impressive improv skills, I’ll give you that. I nearly bought it” he teased

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” Rose refused to believe the game was up, “Tell you what- let’s try that gate. Come on!” She led them both through a metal gate onto the viewing deck, “Here we go! And this is…” she trailed off, “I’ll let the Doctor describe it.”

“The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire.” The Doctor looked down at the planet below, “And there it is, planet Earth at it’s height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle.”

“Whoa” Ianto went right up to the glass and gave them a bright look, “So does this make me an astronaut then? Do I get a badge?”

“He’s your boyfriend” The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose when Ianto went back to staring out of the window like an impressed puppy. He wondered what he’d shown he man in the future if he was so impressed with being in space, he was acting like this was his first time.

“Shut up”

-

Once Ianto had seen his fill of the planet bellow, The Doctor threw an arm around his shoulder, “Come on Ianto” he guided his companions into the main hub of this level, “Open your mind. You’re going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners and-”

_“Out of the way!”_ A man barged past and suddenly there were a lot of people bustling around that came out of nowhere, Ianto likened it to the London Underground but just with more alien tech dotted around the place. 

Food venders set up shop and started serving the bustling crowds, _“Thank you very much indeed. Somebody there? That’s great. What do you want, love? All right, keep moving. I’ll be with you lot in a minute. Here you are. One at a time. What now, what was it? Kronkburger with cheese, kronkburger with pajatos. Do you want a drink?”_ It defiantly sounded like a busy city, _“Oi, you, mate. Stop pushing. Get back. I said, back.”_

“Fine cuisine?” Rose investigated the vendors with a sceptical look

“My watch must be wrong.” The Doctor checked with a frown, “No, it’s fine. It’s weird.”

Rose grinned at him, “That’s what comes of showing off. Your history’s not as good as you thought it was.”

“My history’s perfect.” The Doctor was almost insulted at the insinuation and not for the first time since he met the two travellers, Ianto wondered what their relationship was. 

They sounded like an old married couple, “Well, obviously not.” Rose teased him

Looking around at all the people, Ianto noticed something strange, “They’re all human.” He double checked and yep, not a tentacle or extra limb in sight, “What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?” He wanted to see some aliens before he went home, ones that weren’t going to try and kill him for a change.

“Good question.” The Doctor gave him a double take, “Actually, that is a good question.” He wrapped his arm around his shoulder again with a smile that didn’t bode well for him, “Ianto, me old mate, you must be starving”

Taking a look at one of the- what did he call them Kronkburgers? Ianto pulled a face, “No, I’m just a bit time sick.”

“No, you just need a bit of grub.” The Doctor insisted, “Oi, mate - how much is a kronkburger?”

The vendor answered him, “Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now join the queue.”

“Money. We need money.” The Doctor looked around, “Let’s use a cashpoint.” Rose and Ianto followed him to a ‘Credit Five’ cashpoint, whatever that was, and watched as The Doctor did something clever with his sonic screwdriver, making the machine spit out a metal strip which he immediately handed to Ianto, “There you go, pocket money. Don’t spend it all on sweets.”

Turning the card over in his hands, Ianto asked, “How does it work?”

“Go and find out.” The Doctor told him, fed up, “Stop nagging me. The thing is, Ianto, time travel’s like visiting Paris. You can’t just read the guide book, you’ve got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers.” He paused as Rose laughed, “Or is that just me? Stop asking questions, go and do it.” He watched Ianto wonder off before giving Rose a Look, “Off you go, then.” He smirked, “Your first date”

“You’re going to get a smack, you are.” She shook her head at the Doctor before following Ianto so he didn’t get lost.

Once he was free of his companions, the Doctors smile slipped off his face and he approached the first smartly dressed person he could see, “Er, this is going to sound daft, but can you tell me where I am?” He asked, looking between the two women for any sign of oddity

“Floor One Three Nine.” One woman told him, pointing at a huge sigh, “Could they write it any bigger?”

The Doctor gave her a blank look, “Floor one three nine of what?”

“Must’ve been a hell of a party.” She looked him up and down, clearly unimpressed with what she saw. She was going to walk away before her friend smiled and answered his question

“You’re on Satellite Five.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, “What’s Satellite Five.”

The first woman was losing her temper now, “Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?”

“Look at me.” The Doctor grinned, “I’m stupid.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. Are you a test?” The second woman asked with wide eyes, “Some sort of management test kind of thing?”

Pretending to be caught out, the doctor pulled out his psychic paper, “You’ve got me. Well done. You’re too clever for me.”

“We were warned about this in basic training.” The second woman told her friend, “All workers have to be versed in company promotion.”

“Right,” she looked a lot more willing to help now, plastering on a fake smile, “fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor five hundred I’ll do anything.”

“Why,” The Doctor asked, “what happens on Floor five hundred?”

The woman tilted her head to one side, “The walls are made of gold.” She flirted, “And you should know, Mister Management. So, this is what we do.” She led him over to a wall monitor, “Latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy seven closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Bo has just announced he’s pregnant.”

“I get it.” The Doctor nodded along, “You broadcast the news.”

“We are the news.” She corrected, “We’re the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. Six hundred channels”

Meanwhile on the other side of the canteen, Rose was handing Ianto a paper cup with a distinctly familiar plastic straw in it, it was nice to see such a common thing had survived so long, ”Try this. It’s called Zaphic. It’s nice, it’s like a, er,” she struggled for a moment, “Slush Puppy.”

Eyeing it suspiciously, Ianto asked, “What flavour?” He’d never been a big fan of the drink anyway, it was too cold for him, like ice cream, gave him headaches

Rose took another experimental sip as she sat down next to him, “Sort of… beef?” She laughed

“Oh my God.” Ianto laughed along with her, shaking his head as he drank in his surroundings, “It’s _amazing._ Terrifying but amazing, like everything’s gone, home, family, everything.”

Rose took out her mobile phone, “This helps. The Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who’s back home, your mum and dad?”

Shaking his head, Ianto corrected her, “Just my sister really, and her kids. Mica and David would lose their mind in this place,” he looked around with a smile he knew must look stupid but he couldn’t bring himself to care, “I’m not the only one who dreamt of seeing the stars you know”

“Phone them up.” Rose handed him her phone

“But that’s one hundred and ninety eight thousand years ago.” Ianto didn’t understand how that could be possible, besides it’s not like Rhiannon would care if he dropped off the face of the earth

“Honestly,” Rose insisted, “try it. Go on.”

Typing in the number of his sisters landline, Ianto stopped for a second as a thought popped into his head, “Is there a code for planet Earth?”

“Just dial.” Rose sighed exasperated

Ianto got the machine, not surprising, Rhiannon was probably running around after the kids, “It’s er. Hi. It’s me.” He left a message, “I’m alive, I know there was that attack on London but I’m fine if you were worried. I’ve sort of gone travelling, I met these people and we’ve gone travelling together” he smiled at Rose, “But, er, I’m fine, and I’ll call you later. Give the kids a hug from me. Bye.” He hung up and looked down at the phone, “That is so-” he was cut off by an alarm sounding, the vendors taking that as their cue to close up shop as everyone else started grabbing their things

_“Oi!”_ The Doctor called them over, _“Mutt and Jeff! Over here!”_

Rose got up and left before Ianto could hand her phone back so he slid it into his pocket as he got up to follow, he’d give it back to her later. Rhiannon might call back, he let himself hope despite knowing deep down hat she wouldn’t, would probably delete the message as soon as she heard his voice.

Still, he could hope.


	6. Ninety One Years

They were taken into a Newsroom, seven people were seated around at an octagonal desk. In the middle there was a central chair with a bunch of wires coming out of it. The Doctor, Rose and Ianto were told to stand at one side and observe, “Now, everybody behave. We have a management inspection.” The woman the doctor had met earlier turned to him, “How do you want it, by the book?”

“Right from scratch, thanks.” The Doctor shrugged at Rose once the woman turned her back, no idea what was coming next

“Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot,” She turned back to The Doctor as Ianto made a mental note about how he should try and address others in this time period as to not cause offence, “My name is Cathica Santini Khadeni.” She turned back to the Doctor, “That’s Cathica with a C, in case you want to write to Floor five hundred praising me, and please do.” She said pointedly, “Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That’s company policy.”

“Actually,” her fiend corrected her, “it’s the law.”

“Yes, thank you, Suki.” Cathica galred at her before slapping on her fake smile again, “Okay, keep it calm. Don’t show off for the guests.” Ianto held back a snort, hypocrite, “Here we go.” Cathica settled into the central chair and looked up at the ceiling, “And engage safety”

The seven ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot held their hands over a sort of palm print on the table in front of them as the room lit up. Ianto watched closely as Cathica clicked her fingers, causing a flipping _door_ in her forehead to open up as the seven put their hands on the table in front of them “And three, two, and spike.” 

Ianto knew he was gaping and closed his mouth with an audible clack as his teeth clenched together, that woman had a beam of light connecting into her exposed brain, he wasn’t sure if he felt sick or amazed. Maybe it was both.

“Compressed information, streaming into her.” The Doctor answered the unasked question, “Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer.”

“If it all goes through her, she must be a genius.” Rose sounded impressed as Ianto belated with himself over whether or not he was going to throw up.

“Nah,” The Doctor walked around the edge of the room “she wouldn’t remember any of it. There’s too much. Her head’d blow up. The brain’s the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets.”

Rose followed him, leaving Ianto by himself on the platform, unable to look away from the brain window thing, “So, what about all these people round the edge?” She asked

“They’ve all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels.” He told her, “Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. Now that’s what I call power”

Ianto must have made a noise of some kind because Rose wandered back to his side, “Do you want to get out?”

“No.” He told her quickly, “No, this technology, it’s- well it’s amazing.” It might be horrifying but it was fantastic, lightyears beyond the technology of his own time, he wanted to sit down and pick it apart, see what made it tick, how it worked. If he could stomach it that is, he _could_ see inside this woman’s skull.

The Doctor didn’t seem to agree as he joined them back on the platform as well, “This technology’s wrong.”

“Trouble?” Rose asked with a smile

The Doctor grinned right back, “Oh, yeah” and Ianto wondered just how much trouble he’d landed himself in this time.

Before he could politely ask to be taken home to avoid being threatened by what was surely be another hostile alien, Ianto was ignored in favour of paying attention to Suki as she pulled her hands away from the table, shortly followed by the other six as well.

Cathica’s head window, as Ianto was calling it privately, closed as the light cut off, she didn’t seem too happy about the turn of events, “Come off it, Suki. I wasn’t even halfway!” She complained, “What was that for?”

“Sorry.” She apologised, rubbing her hands, “It must’ve been a glitch.”

-

Rose was hanging about Ianto like a concerned teacher on a school trip, he was half expecting her to offer him a mint to calm his stomach as the Doctor waved off Suki who’d received a promotion to floor 500 after their session in the newsroom, “Come on,” Rose nudged their shoulders together, “it’s not that bad.”

“What, with the head thing?” He laughed slightly hysterically, “I just wanted to go home, I’m not cut out for this” he didn’t know why he’d been brought along for the trip but he just wanted to get his feet back on solid ground, “I just need to… do you think the Doctor would mind if I go sit on the observation deck for a while?” He was just going to get under their feet

Rose told him it was no problem, she could remember her first time in space, at least Ianto didn’t have to worry about bitchy trampolines and the sun exploding, “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, no, you stick with the Doctor.” Ianto dug her phone out of his pocket and handed it back to her, “Thanks for letting me make a call, anyway, I’ll be on the deck if you need me.”

Rose put a hand on his arm to stop him walking away, “Here you go, take the Tardis key.” She fished it out of her pocket and handed it over, “You know, just in case it gets a bit too much.”

“Yeah, like it’s not weird in there.” He teased her, taking the key anyway, it couldn’t hurt, could it?

“Oi,” the Doctor stopped him as he walked by and dragged him off to the side, “See if you can get on any of the computers, find out what’s on floor 500. Rose and I will see what we can sniff out round here”

“That surely can’t be too hard” Ianto looked pointedly at his nose with a small smirk, “I’ll see what I can do for you Doctor” if he remembered correctly there was a computer on the observation deck anyway, it couldn't hurt to check.

Staring with surprise at the space Ianto had occupied a few seconds ago, the Doctor found himself reluctantly smiling before returning to Cathica and Rose. Looks like Ianto had finally found his backbone then. Good, he was going to need it because something was very wrong with this place. People disappearing to floor 500 never to return. No aliens onboard. The human race had been stunted and he was going to figure out why.

Cathica was his way in, “Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can’t you give it a rest?”

She had taken them back to the newsroom and The Doctor clambered up onto the chair she’d been using before, “But you’ve never been to another floor?” He asked, getting himself comfortable, “Not even one floor down?”

“I went to floor sixteen when I first arrived.” She was getting defensive now, “That’s medical. That’s when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That’s it, that’s all.” She sighed, “You’re not management, are you?”

“At last” the Doctor declared, “She’s clever.”

Unimpressed, Cathica got ready to leave them to it, damn the consequences of leaving the transmitters without assessing the fault, “Yeah, well, whatever it is, don’t involve me. I don’t know anything.”

“Don’t you even ask?” Rose prodded

“Well, why would I?” Cathica shrugged

“You’re a journalist.” The Doctor exclaimed, “Why’s all the crew human?”

“What’s that got to do with anything? 

It had everything to do with all of this, The Doctor thought as he sat up, looking her dead in the eye, “There’s no aliens on board. Why?” And as predicted she was thrown off by the question, a look of confusion clouding her features before it passed and she settled back into her thoughtless state of mind, regurgitating information she had been spoon fed without a single thought of her own.

“I don’t know.” She told him, “No real reason. They’re not banned or anything.”

Looking around to make his point, The Doctor asked, “Then where are they?”

“I suppose immigration’s tightened up.” Cathica blustered, “It’s had to, what with all the threats.”

Rose interjected, “What threats?”

“I don’t know,” Cathica found she’d been saying that a lot during this conversation and wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact, “all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away.” She was scraping the bottom of the barrel, “Oh, and the government on Chavic Five’s collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons, that’s all.”

“Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn’t even notice.” The Doctor stated

“Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it.” She told him, a tad patronising, “We see everything.”

But the timelord didn’t miss a beat, “I can see better.” He sounded almost disappointed, “This society’s the wrong shape, even the technology.”

“It’s cutting edge!” She protested

“It’s backwards.” He snapped back, “There’s a great big door in your head.” He pulled a face, “You should’ve chucked this out years ago.”

Rose leant against the chair the Doctor had claimed, “So, what do you think’s going on?” This was shaping up to be quite the conspiracy

“It’s not just this space station, it’s the whole attitude. It’s the way people think.” He claimed, “The great and bountiful Human Empire’s stunted. Something’s holding it back.”

“And how would you know?” Cathica challenged him,

“Trust me, humanity’s been set back about ninety years.” He cocked his head to one side, “When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?”

They almost didn’t need Cathica’s answer, her face said it all, “Ninety one years ago.”


	7. Floor Sixteen

On the observation deck the computer was giving Ianto some trouble, he was putting his hand on the scanner and for a few seconds he could gain access to their servers but as soon as he tried searching for information about floor five hundred he got froze out, “Give me access” he spoke clearly and the console lit up again, “Give me- ah! Motherfu-” he cut himself off as he pulled his hand away, the electric shock startling him more than it actually hurt, at least he was in now, “I can learn anything.” He briefly debated looking up the lottery numbers for the week he would return or looking into companies it would be wise to invest in but shook the temptation off fairly easily, “Give me information on floor five hundred” 

He got a whole three seconds of uninterrupted screen time before another message popped up, blocking his view of the text. You’d think a place like this would have a decent add blocker but there you go I guess. The message was telling him to go to floor 16, a floor on which Ianto had no idea what he would find, “No, no, no, no, no! What’re you doing? Come back!” He pleaded with the machine, kicking it for good measure but when it didn’t do anything he sighed, “Why are you doing that? What’s Floor sixteen? What’s down there?”

The computer didn’t give him anymore information so he guessed he needed to go down to floor 16 and continue his search there. 

-

The Doctor was used to doing very clever things and not explaining them as he went along so when Cathica interrupted him every three seconds it was difficult not to just send her packing. Right now he was trying to find an access point so he could log onto the mainframe and had found a nice little cupboard he could prise open with a little help from his sonic screwdriver.

She was slowing the whole process down, “We are so going to get in trouble. You’re not allowed to touch the mainframe.” She wittered on, “You’re going to get told off.”

“Rose,” the doctor turned to his companion sweetly, “tell her to button it.”

Cathica had other ideas, of course, “You can’t just vandalise the place. Someone’s going to notice!” And someone most certainly did.

-

It gave Ianto a small amount of comfort that the lifts in the future still worked the same as those in the past. You pressed a button and got taken up or down, only with less mind numbing music. So an improvement then, nice. The doors opened the other way though, horizontally instead of vertically which was a bit strange but who was he to question it? He guessed a lot less arm injuries occurred this way, less chance of getting caught between the doors.

With a soft bing that made him smile, the doors opened and Ianto walked out onto floor 16. Rows of desks lined the room, only one of which where there wasn’t a conversation going on, “Sorry,” he approached the woman sat at the desk and pulled on his most polite smile, “I think I’m a bit lost, this is floor 16 right? What do you cover?” 

“Medical non-emergency.” The apparent nurse told him

“Right.” Ianto took a step back, nodding like he understood, “Yeah, wrong floor. I’m having technical difficulties. My screen keeps freezing, blocking me out.”

“No,” the nurse looked him up and down, “that’s medical. There must be something wrong with your chip.”

Right, his chip, “Yes.” Ianto gripped the back of the visitors chair, “Yeah, of course” when she looked at him expectantly he caved, “I haven’t got one.”

The nurse rolled her eyes and sighed, looking like she would rather be anywhere else, “No wonder you can’t get a screen to work. What are you,” she raked her eyes down his body, making Ianto feel a tad self conscious before she finished her sentence, “a student?”

Grasping the lifeline, Ianto sat with a short nod, “Yes.” Time to bullshit his way through yet another conversation in life, “Yeah, I’m on a research project from…” quick brain, “the University of Mars.” Really? He asked himself, that’s the best you can come up with?

The nurse bought it though, “The Martian boondocks.” She tutted, “Typical.”

“Yeah.” He tried his charming smile and was pleased to note the nurse blushed a little, looks like he still had it, “I’m sorry to be such a bother”

“Well,” the nurse smiled at him, “you still need chipping. “

That didn’t sound great if Ianto was being honest, “So, does that mean… brain surgery?”

“That’s an old fashioned phrase,” she laughed and Ianto was relieved until she carried on speaking, “but it’s the same thing, yes.”

“Oh. Okay, never mind.” He got up quickly, ready to run for it in fear of someone strapping him down and drilling into his brain when she called after him

“You won’t be able to use any of the computers,” the nurse stopped him in his tracks, “and if you’re not chipped I’ll have to enter you into the medical logs anyway” she told him, “It’s standard procedure, I’ll just need your registration information”

Oh, that wasn’t good, he was pretty sure he was meant to be staying under the radar, “On second thought, this chip might not be such a bad idea” he made his way back to her desk slowly

“Absolutely.” She agreed, “You’ll have to pay for it. They’ve stopped subsidising.”

“Oh! Right” Ianto patted down his pockets and pulled out the card The Doctor had gotten him from the cashpoint, “Can I use this? 

The nurse practically purred once she saw it, “That’ll do nicely.”

-

The Doctor seemed to be having the time of his life, tangled up in a nest of wiring with his sonic screwdriver, going to town on the electronics, “This is nothing to do with me.” Cathica started walking away, “I’m going back to work.”

“Go on, then.” The Doctor didn’t even turn around, “See you!” 

Spinning back dramatically on her heel, Cathica made her way back over to them, exclaiming, “I can’t just leave you, can I!”

“If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down.” Rose pulled on the collar of her shirt, “It’s boiling. What’s wrong with this place?” She asked, feeling uncomfortably warm in the heat, “Can’t they do something about it?”

“I don’t know. We keep asking,” Cathica waved her hand about half heartedly, “something to do with the turbine.”

_“Something to do with the turbine.”_ The Doctor mocked her

Fed up, Cathica threw her arms up and complained, “Well, I don’t know!”

“Exactly.” The Doctor told her, “I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose.” He looked down at his companion proudly, “Look at Rose.” He practically preened, “Rose is asking the right kind of question.”

Rose turned around to look at him and smiled exasperatedly, “Thank you.” 

“Why is it so hot?” He demanded

“One minutes you’re worried about the Empire and the next it’s the central heating!” Cathica shook her head, these people made no sense

The Doctor accidentally pulled out a huge cluster of wires and shrugged, dropping them to the floor, “Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing’s very important”

-

Why was this his life? Ianto was pretty sure this sort of crap didn’t happen to anyone else, here he was sat in an operating chair about to get an alien chip implanted in his head so he could use a computer to access information about floor 500 of a flipping space station. He hadn’t signed up for this and yet here he was.

The nurse was pulling a circular device down above his head with a smile that had long since turned from bashful to just plain creepy, “It all comes down to two basic types.” She was telling him, “Type one, the head chip inserted into the back of the skull, one hundred credits. There’s the chip.” She showed him, “Tiny. Invisible. No scarring. Type two is the full info-spike.”

“Oh, that’s the,” he pointed at his forehead, “brain window”

The nurse seemed amused with his choice of words and nodded, “That’s the one.” She warned him, “It does cost ten thousand.”

That’s where Ianto drew the line, he was not about to let some strange woman from outer space drill a hole in his head so he could use a flipping computer, “Oh, well” he made up an excuse, “I couldn’t afford it then.”

“Not at all.” The nurse pulled out his metal card, “It turns out you’ve got unlimited credit.”

Of course he did, “No, but I couldn’t have it done” he licked his lips, “It’s got to hurt, hasn’t it?” Maybe if he acted wimpy she’d let it go.

“Painless.” The nurse was doing her creepy smile again, “Contractual guarantee.”

“No, I have friends waiting for me back upstairs,” he rebuffed again, “I can’t have major surgery.” 

And boy, was she a pushy nurse, “It takes ten minutes.” She leant in close, “That sort of money buys a very fast picosurgeon.”

“No,” Ianto shook his head, “I couldn’t. No, just the chip please”

The nurse looked disappointed but respected his decision, “Very well” 

-

Meanwhile upstairs the Doctor was pulling a monitor from behind a snarl of wires with a schematic on it, showing it proudly to Rose and Cathica, like a child would a mud pie to their exasperated parents, “Here we go. Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout.”

“This is ridiculous.” Cathica told him, “You’ve got access to the computer’s core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange and you’re looking at _pipes_?”

“But there’s something wrong.” He pointed out

She only had to look at it for a few seconds to spot the problem, “I suppose.”

“Why,” Rose on the other hand didn’t understand what she was looking at, “what is it?”

“The ventilation system.” Cathica explained, “Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channelling massive amounts of heat down.”

The Doctor nodded, “All the way from the top. Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m missing out on a party.” Rose glanced towards the lift, “It’s all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?”

“You can’t.” Cathica rolled her eyes at them, “You need a key and the only way to get a key is through promotion.”

The Doctor started fiddling with the mainframe again, “Keys are just codes, and I’ve got the codes right here.” He boasted, “Here we go. Override two one five point nine.”

Cathica couldn’t believe her eyes, this was so unfair, “How come it’s given you the code?” She’d been here three years and nothing, but five minutes in a cupboard and this man was handed a golden ticket.

The Doctor looked into the small camera just above the monitor he’d been using, “Someone up there likes me.”


	8. The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe

Ianto woke up slowly, whatever he’d been given to knock him out during the procedure had done the trick, he felt as high as a kite, “I told you it was painless.” The nurse pressed his hand to the back of his skull where he felt nothing strange, “No scarring. Perfect success.”

Blinking rapidly as he came down from his high, Ianto took his hand away from his head and asked, “So I can use the computer now?” 

“Yes, good luck on your research paper on behalf of Satellite five” Her smile was tight, pinched at the edges as she handed his card back over, obviously a bit miffed she’d missed out on a huge payday, “Do try to move slowly, some patients can experience slight nausea after the procedure”

Ianto was of course already halfway to his feet and collapsed back down as everything started spinning, “Oh, god.” He squeezed his eyes shut, “I’m going to be sick.” He lent forward to be sick on the floor instead of on himself when he realised something was wrong. As he sat there, retching like his life depended on it, something strange was happening in his mouth, “What-” he clapped a hand over his mouth in disgust and spat out a pale ice cube with a look of horror

“Special offer.” The nurse provided a small metal dish for him to drop the ice cube into without batting an eyelash, “We installed the vomitomatic at the same time. Nano-termites have been placed in the lining of your throat. In the event of sickness, they freeze the waste”

He’d just thrown up a sickcube, brilliant.

-

After leaving a disgruntled Cathica downstairs, The Doctor and Rose made their way up to floor 500 hundred with twin smiles, “That’s her gone.” The Doctor beamed, glad to be alone with Rose at last, “Ianto’s given up. Looks like it’s just you and me.” He told her cheerfully

“Yeah.” Rose agreed, clearly happy to have ditched Cathica as well

“Good.”

“Yep.”

The rest of the ride up was made in comfortable silence, a silence the Doctor only broke when the lift door opened to reveal a frozen and abandoned floor, “The walls are not made of gold.” He mused as he looked out into the winter wonderland that was floor 500, pausing by the doors, “On second thought maybe you should go back downstairs.” He cautioned

“Tough.” She followed him out fearlessly and explored the floor, the whole place was covered in ice and frost, a drastic change from the heated floors below, the only light coming from an archway to their right, “Let’s go through there” Rose suggested, leading the Doctor into an equally cold room, this one with people in it

“I started without you.” The Editor was waiting for them with a smiled, he was a thin man who didn't seem all that chilly despite being covered in frost, even his hair was white as snow, “This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire.” He didn’t bother to introduce himself as he instead launched into what The Doctor silently recognised as ‘the villains master plan monologue’, “Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two, you don’t exist. Not a trace.” He laughed, “No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?”

Rose was distracted by something more important though, the woman who had received a promotion earlier that day was hooked up to one of the computers, “Suki. Suki! Hello?” She wasn’t responding and was ice cold to the touch, “Can you hear me? Suki?” She turned to the frosty man in charge, “What have you done to her?”

“I think she’s dead.” The Doctor pulled her away from the body but they didn’t get far

Rose shook her head, that didn’t make any sense, “She’s working.” She could see her right there, sat at the desk working, she couldn't be dead.

“They’ve all got chips in their head,” he explained, “and the chips keep going, like puppets.”

The Editor laughed again and clapped his frozen hands, “Oh! You’re full of information. But it’s only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you’re no one. It’s so rare not to know something. Who are you?”

“It doesn’t matter, because we’re off.” The Doctor took Rose’s hand and began leading her away, “Nice to meet you. Come on.” Only Suki was faster and latched onto Rose’s arm as two other puppets made a grab for the Doctor

The Editor wasn’t laughing this time, “Tell me who you are!”

“Since that information’s keeping us alive,” The Doctor struggled against his captors, “I’m hardly going to say, am I.”

“Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise.” The Editor said cryptically, pleased when The Doctor asked him who that was, “It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it’s not actually human at all. It’s merely a place where humans happen to live.” He stopped suddenly at the sound of a growl, “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It’s a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client.”

Rose didn’t understand what he meant until the man pointed up. On the ceiling was a giant slimy lump just hanging there with a very nasty set of teeth in it’s gaping mouth, “What is that?”

“You mean that thing’s in charge of Satellite Five?” The Doctor asked

“That thing, as you put it,” the editor told them, “is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it’s broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity’s guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe.” He smiled, “I call him Max.”

Down on Floor 139 Ianto swerved to avoid Cathica on his way back to the observation deck as she went to take another look at the schematic the Doctor had called up. Mind made up, she made her way to the lift and punched in the code for floor 500 just as Ianto was sliding the doors to the observation deck closed. Propping them shut with that he could only assume was a special space fire extinguisher. 

“Okay, lets try this again” he approached the computer and placed his hand on the pad, “Give me information of floor 500” the screen went blank, “I said, give me information of floor 500” he repeated himself, “Give me- ah shit!” He collapsed to his knees as pain radiated up his arm, the back of his head where the chip had been implanted started burning and he couldn’t pull his hand away from the machine, he was stuck

Meanwhile, over three hundred floors above, the Doctor and Rose had no idea what was going on as they were locked up in hefty sets of matching manacles and what made it unbearable in the Doctors opinion was that the Editor had started monologuing, “Create a climate of fear and it’s easy to keep the borders closed. It’s just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote.”

“So all the people on Earth are like, slaves.” Rose summed it up for him

The Editor smiled at her like she was an exceptionally smart puppy, “Well, now, there’s an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn’t know he’s enslaved?”

“Yes.” The Doctor told him bluntly

Laughing, the man shook his head, “Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I’m going to get?” He asked, “Yes?”

“Yes.” The Doctor repeated himself, equally as blunt as before

“You’re no fun.” Their captor complained

“Let me out of these manacles.” The Doctor threatened, “You’ll find out how much fun I am.”

But it seemed he was only egging the Editor on, “Oh, he’s tough, isn’t he? But, come on. Isn’t it a great system? You’ve got to admire it, just a little bit.”

There was still one thing Rose didn’t understand, “You can’t hide something on this scale. Somebody must have noticed.”

“From time to time, someone, yes” He admitted, “but the computer chip system allows me to see inside their brains. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it.” He was so focused on his speech he didn’t hear the lift opening out in the main section of the floor, “Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they’re so individual, when of course, they’re not. They’re just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn’t changed a thing.”

The Doctor and Rose spotted Cathica behind the Editor’s back as she crept around unnoticed and trie to distract the Editor for as long as they could, “What about you? You’re not a…” Rose reach blindly for the word, “Jagrabelly”

“Jagrafess.” The Doctor corrected her

“Jagrafess. You’re not a Jagrafess.” Rose looked him up and down, “You’re human.”

The Editor rolled his eyes, growing bored of this game, “Yeah, well, simply being human doesn’t pay very well.”

Rose struggled against her bonds, trying to break free even as she knew it was pointless, “But you couldn’t have done this all on your own.”

“No.” He agreed, “I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself.”

“No wonder, a creature that size.” The Doctor looked up at their host, “What’s his life span?”

The editor boasted, “Three thousand years.”

“That’s one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That’s why Satellite Five’s so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive.” He slotted the last puzzle piece into place, “Satellite Five is one great big life support system”

“But that’s why you’re so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown.” He asked, “Who are you?” When he didn’t receive a reply he snapped his fingers and energy surged through the manacles around the Doctor and Rose’s wrists

“Leave her alone.” The Doctor demanded as Rose cried out in pain, “I’m the Doctor, she’s Rose Tyler. We’re nothing, we’re just wandering.”

The edit demanded, “Tell me who you are!”

“I just said!” What more did he want?

“Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you?” He asked, “Who knows about us? Who exactly-” he stopped mid question as the Jagrafess growled, a huge smile spreading across his lips, “Time Lord.”

The Doctor felt his hearts stop, “What?” 

“Oh, yes.” The man rubbed his hands together greedily, “The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girl from long ago”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The Doctor bluffed

The Editor only continued to grin, looking like all his Christmas’s had come at one, “Time travel.” He said the words as if they were sacred

On the observation deck below, Ianto was still trying to pry his hand away from the computer as his body spasmed in pain, “Help!” Too bad he’d blocked the door behind him, he was all on his own

“Someone’s been telling you lies.” The Doctor insisted, no idea what was going on downstairs

“Young master Ianto Jones?” The Editor savoured each word, calling up a screen to show them their friend, held hostage by one of the computers, in a great deal of pain

Rose felt her breath catch as she looked at it, “Oh my God.” They were torturing him

“What the hell’s he done?” The Doctor asked, he’d only told Ianto to see what he could find on the computer, not get himself attacked by one, “What the hell’s he gone and done? They’re reading his mind. He’s telling them everything.”

“And through him, I know everything about you.” The Editor laughed, “Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you’ve seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S.” he spelt it out proudly, “Tardis.”

“Well, you’ll never get your hands on it.” The Doctor told him, “I’ll die first.”

The Editor gestured at the screen, “Die all you like. I don’t need you.” He laughed, “I’ve got the key.” And sure enough the Tardis Key rose had given him started to rise out of Ianto’s pocket

The Doctor couldn’t believe his eyes, he’d trusted that key to Rose and now Ianto was going to hand it over, “You and your boyfriends!”

“Today, we are the headlines. We can rewrite history.” The Editor span on his heel, “We could prevent mankind from ever developing.”

“And no one’s going to stop you because you’ve bred a human race that doesn’t bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie.” The Doctor locked eyes with Cathica behind the editors back, “They’ll just trot right into the slaughter house if they’re told it’s made of gold.”

The Jagrafess snarled and Cathica left, The Doctor could only hope she’d pull through for them


	9. Glorified Hostage

Cathica knew what she had to do, her whole life she had worked and worked and sacrificed everything in her attempts to get promoted, to work amongst the best of the best, to see floor five hundred and touch the golden walls but now she knew it was all a lie. Everything she had been taught to believe was false, lies up on lies all stacking up into one big con.

She couldn’t live that life anymore and she knew she had to end it.

The newsroom on floor five hundred was more like a tomb, frozen, decaying bodies surrounded the broadcast chair, a skeleton frozen in the middle. It took some tugging but eventually she managed to pull the corpse off the chair and sat down in it’s place, “Disengage safety.” She took a deep breath against the cold air and told herself to be brave, “Maximum access. Override Floor one three nine.” Downstairs the computer disconnected and released Ianto’s arm, the Tardis key falling to the ground next to him as he collapsed, “And spike!”

“Someone’s disengaged the safety.” The editor called up the image currently broadcasting from the 500th newsroom, pointing a frozen finger at the woman in the chair, “Who’s that?”

“It’s Cathica.” Rose breathed

“And she’s thinking.” The Doctor grinned, “She’s using what she knows.”

Turning to his drones, the editor snapped out his orders, “Terminate her access.”

“Everything I told her about Satellite Five. The pipes, the filters, she’s reversing it.” The Doctor looked up at the ice that was starting to melt, “Look at that,” he taunted, “it’s getting hot.”

Stalking Suki’s side, the editor growled, “I said, terminate.” He ordered, “Burn out her mind”

“Oh no, you don’t.” In the newsroom Cathica was fighting back, “You should have promoted me years back” she blew up the consoles and the dead operators collapsed, finally allowed to rest as alarms sounded throughout the rest of the satellite, causing people to panic as Rose managed to release herself from her manacles

“She’s venting the heat up here.” The Doctor struggled as Rose tried to free him as well, “The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it’s sitting on top of a volcano.”

Panicking, the editor cringed away from his boss, “Yes, I’m trying, sir, but I don’t know how she did it. It’s impossible.” He cowered, “A member of staff with an idea.” He pushed Suki from her seat, letting her slump to the floor as he tried to undo Cathica’s work

“What do I do?” Rose had dug The Doctor’s sonic out of his pocket and was holding it desperately

“Flick the switch!” He told her, calling out to get the Editors attention as she started to free him, “Oi, mate, want to bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang. See you in the headlines!”

Finally free, the Doctor and Rose left in a hurry, leaving the editor behind, “Actually, sir,” he grovelled, “if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll resign. Bye, then!” But before he could make his escape Suki’s ice cold hand made a grab for his ankle, pulling him down to the floor, “Let go of me!” But it was no use

The Doctor and Rose ran for the newsroom as chunks of ice fell from the ceiling, the satellite shuddering around them as the Jagrafess growled in pain before exploding. 

“Cathica,” Rose paused by her side, looking at the beam of light still connecting her to the machine, “Doctor?”

The Doctor snapped his fingers and closed the connection down, smiling at the breathless woman proudly, “Cathica Santini Khadeni, you’re brilliant!”

-

Ianto groaned as he opened his eyes, the first thing in his line of sight being the observation window looking down at the planet below. Right. He was in space, so this hadn’t been a nightmare then, he was still well and truly fucked. At least the back of his head wasn’t burning anymore, and his hand wasn’t being zapped by the computer, “Rose?” He sat up, his hand brushing against the Tardis key he must have dropped, “Doctor?” 

Nothing, he supposed he’d better go look for them and find out what had happened.

He didn’t have to go far, spotting The Doctor and Rose chatting with Cathica just outside the doors, looks like he wasn’t the only one injured in whatever had happened, people were milling about doting on the wounded, “We’re just going to go. I hate tidying up.” The Doctor was saying, “Too many questions. You’ll manage.”

“You’ll have to stay and explain it.” Cathica complained, “No one’s going to believe me.”

“Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now.” The Doctor told her cryptically, “The human race should accelerate. All back to normal.”

Ianto tried for a smile when Cathica spotted him but got the impression he’d done something incredibly stupid when she rolled her eyes and asked The Doctor, “What about your friend?”

“He’s not my friend.”

That couldn’t be good, “Hey,” Ianto waved when The Doctor came marching over to him, “I’ve got the key, um, I’m not entirely sure what happened and-” The Doctor grabbed him by the cup of his shirt, not for the first time, and pushed him into the Tardis without a word. Definitely not good then, especially if Rose was pleading with him.

He just hoped he wasn’t about to be pushed out into the vacuum of space, that would really suck. No pun intended.

-

”How could you be so stupid?” The Doctor had worked through his silent disappointment and had moved onto his not so silent anger, “I told you to find some information, not go get yourself chipped it’s technology beyond your time! Do you have any idea what the side effects-”

“Doctor, leave him alone. He was only trying to help” Rose defended him when Ianto didn’t say a word, “It’s not his fault”

Huffing, the Doctor turned his attention towards the Tardis console, “Time to go home Ianto, I only take the best and I’ve got Rose for that”

“Brilliant, I never wanted to come along on your little adventure anyway” Ianto crossed his arms, “I just want you to take me home. It’s your fault I was stranded in the first place”

“And just why did I leave you there? Hmm?” Suspicious now, The Doctor eyed him warily, “Why would I leave you in the wrong time period?” He questioned him, “If you even did travel with me in the first place”

“I don’t know!” Ianto snapped, kneading his eyes with his fists, “I- I just- why do you stay with him?” He asked rose, “Really though, because I’ve never met an alien who hasn’t tried to kill me or hated me on sight, and that includes you Doctor”

“It’s not all bad,” Rose touched his arm hesitantly, “Some of the things I’ve seen, they’re beautiful and amazing and just- didn’t you ever see anything so good it makes all the horrible stuff worth it?”

“I can’t say I have, no” Ianto looked at the Doctor, “You’re right, I’ve never been traveling with you. I hid in your box during a horrible battle, hitched a lift by accident and you dumped me the second I showed myself because you didn’t care” he accused, “You acted like I was worthless and you still are, I didn’t ask for any of this so, please” he pleaded, “Just. Take. Me. Home”

Feeling chastised for the first time in as long as he could remember, The Doctor swallowed the smart arsed remark on the tip of his tongue and nodded, “Your wish is my command” he soundlessly pressed a few buttons and piloted the Tardis without his usual flair, seemingly deep in thought as Rose stood awkwardly by his side, sending worried glances in Ianto’s direction before sighing and declaring that was was going to go change, having gotten ice all over her clothes

“I wouldn’t have left you stranded on purpose y’know?” The Doctor eventually spoke up after a few minutes of awkward silence that had fallen over then as soon as Rose left, prompting Ianto to look up at him with a single raised eyebrow, “I mean…” the Doctor seemingly changed his mind, “you know what, forget it”

“Gladly” 

But of course things seemingly never went Ianto’s way and as soon as Rose returned, fresh faced and eager for her next adventure, the Tardis gave a whir of warning before jolting of course, “What’s the emergency?” Rose asked and from the unsurprised look on her face, Ianto could only assume that The Doctor didn’t often pilot the ship and land where they planned on going, it seemed like the Tardis had a mind of her own

“It’s mauve!” The Doctor told her as if that explained everything, which to be fair it might, Ianto thought to himself, maybe he was the only one out of the loop here

“Mauve?” He repeated, once the ship had settled somewhat and he didn’t have to cling to the nearest railing just to stay upright, “What’s mauve?” He moved closer to where Rose and The Doctor were stood to try and get a look at the small screen.

“Universally recognised colour for danger,” the Doctor explained

He couldn’t resist asking, “What happened to red?”

“That’s just humans, by everybody else’s standards red’s camp. Oh the misunderstandings! All those red alerts, all that dancing!” The Doctor answered, grinning madly as he got a lock on the object, “It’s got a very basic flight computer, I’ve hacked in and linked the Tardis. Wherever it goes, we go.”

“And that’s safe?” Ianto asked skeptically, “What happened to taking me home?”

“It’s totally safe” The Doctor ignored his second question as the controls started sparking, “Okay, reasonably,” he corrected himself as Ianto instinctively moved to shield Rose, “I should have said reasonably there.” He returned to the screen, “No, no, no! Stupid time tracks, it’s getting away from us!”

“What exactly is this thing?” Rose asked.

“No idea!” The Doctor told her as he manically started pressing buttons

“Then why are we chasing it?” She questioned

“It’s mauve and dangerous!” The Doctor told her as if that explained everything, “And it’s about thirty seconds from the centre of London.”

Of course it was, Ianto wondered if it was too much to hope they’d land in 2006, at this point he’d gladly take 12 months either way. Anything was better than being dragged along as a glorified hostage at this point.


	10. Dull but Thorough

They’d landed in an alley, on Earth, London in fact but it was the wrong year. Ianto could just tell, it didn’t feel like his London, call him crazy but the air smelt different, the ground felt uncomfortable beneath his feet. Whatever, he knew it wasn’t 2006, “It must have come down somewhere quite close,” the Doctor was telling them as he examined the alley, “within a mile anyway.” He wandered further into the darkness and Ianto was about to politely ask him to stop what he was doing and just take him home when the timelord continued his monologue, “And it can’t have been more than a few weeks ago,” he sniffed, “maybe a month.”

“A month?” Rose asked, “But we were right behind it.”

“It was jumping time tracks all over the place, we were bound to be a little behind,” the Doctor countered, giving her a look, “Do you want to drive?”

“Yeah,” Rose grumbled sarcastically, once again giving Ianto the strong impression that they were secretly an old married couple, “How much is a little?”

“A bit.” The Doctor answered quickly.

Rose bit her lip as a smile threatened to take over, “Is that exactly a bit?”

“Ish” Ianto couldn’t resist chiming in and the Doctor looked less than pleased as Rose laughed, “So what’s the plan then?” He asked, “You going to do a scan for alien tech, or something?”

The Doctor frowned at him, “Ianto, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang, I’m going to ask.” He pulled out his psychic paper and handed it over to him, “See?”

Ianto took it and squinted in the dark while he read out, “Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids?”

“It’s physic paper, it tells you whatever I want it to tell you,” the Doctor explained, taking the paper back as he wandered over to a door and pressed his ear against it, “Door, music, people. What do you think?” He asked Rose.

“I think you should do a scan for alien tech” She winked at Ianto, “Give us some Spock! For once, would it kill you?”

Unimpressed and clearly thinking Ianto was a bad influence, The Doctor huffed, unlocking the door with his sonic screwdriver, “After you,” he pushed Ianto through the door, assuming Rose would follow after, not even bothering to check before moving further inside 

Rose was going to follow, she really was, but at the last minute a voice called out and stopped her in her tracks, “Mummy?” 

Hang on, was that a kid? Rose looked around for the owner of the voice and spotted a little boy in a gasmask up on a nearby roof, “Oh my god, Doctor? Ianto?” She tried the door but it had locked behind them, typical, “There’s a kid up there!” They probably couldn’t hear her and weren’t coming back to help, “Are you all right up there?” She called up to the boy but all the child kept asking for was his mum. He must be terrified.

Taking a deep breath, Rose started climbing up a metal fire escape as fast as she could, not wanting to child to fall to his death. Who let a kid wander about on roofs at nighttime without supervision? She wasn’t exactly prime mother material but even she knew you shouldn’t do that, “Hang on, don’t move!” She called out again as she reached the top of the rood.

The child was stood on a higher level and the only way up she could see was to climb a conveniently placed rope, maybe that’s how he got up there in the first place, “Mummy?” The child asked again

“Okay, hang on.” She tested the rope, it seemed secure, “I’m coming up now, just wait there” using all the upper body strength she had, Rose started to climb the rope, silently cursing herself for all the times she skipped out on PE at school, who knew rope climbing was a skill you’d need as an adult?

“Mummy.” The child pointed, “Balloon!” 

Looking up, Rose felt her heart stop as she realised what she was climbing up. It was a barrage balloon and it was drifting away from the roof, “God!” Rose gripped the rope tightly as she was pulled away form the building completely, dangling over the alleyway below, “Doctor! Doctor! Ianto!” She looked out over the city as searchlights lit up the sky, explosions and fires ignited below her and just when Rose thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse she looked up to find a squadron of German planes headed right for her.

Tightening her grip on the rope despite the ache in her hands, Rose squeezed her eyes shut and clung on for her life. Where was the Doctor? He usually waited until the last minute before making a sudden entrance and a dramatic save, well she couldn’t hang on for much longer and he was nowhere in sight. Her hands and arms were burning, a stark contrast to the cold night air cutting into her as she dangled from the oversized balloon.

She really couldn’t hold on much longer, she was already starting to slip. Not matter how hard she clung to the rope it was slipping through her fingers, burnt palms the least of her worries as she suddenly started to fall with a gasp that quickly morphed into a scream as her arms windmilled uselessly. She was falling. She was actually falling to her death during the London Blitz and the Doctor wasn’t here to save her.

She was just going to keep falling and falling and falling until- 

She stopped.

“Okay, okay, I’ve got you.” A voice came out of nowhere and Rose daren’t even breath lest she start falling again. She was hovering, surrounded by a blue light, suspended in mid air with a mysterious voice telling her everything as going to be okay.

God, was she dead? Had she died and God was taking her to heaven? The voice sounded nice enough to belong to god, she thought wildly as she opened her mouth, “Who’s got me?” She couldn’t barely breath as panic seized her, “Who’s got me… and, you know, how?”

“I’m just programming your descent pattern,” the voice was back, “stay as still as you can and keep your hands, arms and feet inside the light field,” She barely had time to wrap her head around what the voice was saying before it piped up again, she wondered where it was coming from, “Oh, and can you switch off your cell phone?” Were they serious? They couldn’t be serious, “No, really, it interferes with my instrument.”

Not wanting to argue with who she assumed to be her male savour by the sound of his voice, Rose reached into her pocket, moving as little as possible in fear of falling out of the beam of light and switched her phone off, “You know, nobody ever believes that.” She snarked, unable to stop herself

“Thank you, that’s much better,” the voice thanked her

“Oh, yeah, that’s a real load off, that is.” She panicked, “I’m hanging in the middle of the sky in the middle of a German air raid with a Union Jack across my chest but, hey, my mobile phone’s off!” She knew she sounded hysterical but she couldn’t help it, thirty seconds ago she had been falling to certain death and now she was hanging in mid air, the threat to her life still imminent, so she figured she was allowed to freak out a little

“Be with you in a moment,” the voice sounded almost amused, “Ready? Hold tight.”

Looking around desperately at the blue light, Rose shouted, “To what?” 

Conceding, the voice told her, “Fair point,” and then she was falling again, this time down through the beam of light, falling faster and faster and faster still until as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, “I got you,” the voice was closer now, a lot closer in fact, right next to her ear, “you’re fine, you’re just fine. The tractor beam, it can scramble your head just a little.”

She was right in assuming it was a male voice, human too, well at least he looked human. Even if he wasn’t, he was bloody gorgeous. Dimpled chin, strong jaw, neatly combed brown hair and a pair of dreamy blue eyes she could just drown in given half the chance, “Hello,” she blinked dumbly.

“Hello,” he smiled, voice smooth and charming in a way she was unfamiliar with

“Hello,” Rose repeated before shaking her head, “Sorry, that was hello twice there. Dull, but, y’know, thorough.”

“Are you all right?” He was American from the sound of it, as American dreamy man who had just saved her from certain death. She didn’t know if she was swooning or motion sick from the fall, either way he was nice to look at

“Fine.” She told him as he set her down, only realising as he steadied her on her own two feet that she had been in his arms in the first place, not that she was complaining, “You look like you’re expecting me to faint, or something.”

“You look a little dizzy,” he told her, sounding concerned

“What about you?” Rose grinned like an idiot, “You’re not even in focus!”

Catching her as she fainted, Jack picked Rose up again and set her down on his bunk, looks like he’d have to wait till she woke up to get this show on the road.

-

Not finding much inside other than the confirmation the date, The Doctor and Ianto hurried back outside in search for Rose, “Rose?” The Doctor called out, “Rose!” But there was no sign of her. Typical, the doctor thought to himself, trust her to go wandering off in the middle of an air raid

“I don’t see her,” Ianto asked him, “Where do you think she went?”

Before the Doctor could reply and call him an idiot for asking such an inane question, the shrill ring of a telephone had them both jumping out of their skins, “Hang on,” the Doctor followed the sound back to the Tardis, “That’s impossible”

Compelled to open the hatch to the old-timey phone by his curiosity, The Doctor stared at the source of the racket incredulously, “How can you be ringing?” he asked the phone, “What’s that about, ringing?”

“It’s not supposed to?” Ianto asked, not receiving an answer as the Doctor reached to answer it

“Don’t” a voice instructed from the darkness, a woman stepped forward with pale skin and dark hair, looking far too young to be out alone at this time of night, “It’s not for you”

“And how do you know that?” The Doctor asked

Staying in the shadows, as if she was afraid to come any closer, she told him, “Cause I do, and I’m tellin’ you, don’t answer it.”

“Well, if you know so much, how can it be ringing?” The Doctor probed, “It’s not even a real phone, it’s not connected to anything.” He turned around to look at the phone but when he looked back, she was gone, “Where did she go?”

But of course, Ianto hadn’t been looking either, “I don’t know”

“Great lot of good you are” The Doctor huffed, reaching for the phone and answering it despite the warning he’d been given, “Hello?” He asked into the speaker, “Hello, this is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?”

A pause.

Then, a soft, tiny little voice spoke back, “_Mummy?_” They both stood very still, tense as the voice sounded again, “_Mummy!_”

“Who is this?” The Doctor demanded, “Who’s speaking?”

“_Are you my mummy?_”

“Who is this?” The Doctor insisted, “How did you even ring it? This isn’t a real phone, it isn’t wired up to anything.”

The voice repeated itself once more before the line went dead, leaving The Doctor and Ianto to stare at the phone, one perplexed and the other just plain tired, before hanging up the receiver.


	11. Marxism in action or a West End musical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it’s been a while but I’m back *hides behind the sofa* I’m back to regular posting now, honest. Hope you like it :)

Mrs Lloyd was ushering her family down into the shelter when The Doctor and Ianto climbed on top of her dustbin to look over the garden wall, “The planes are coming. Can’t you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now move it!” The Lloyd’s were a well-fed middle-class family, absolutely normal in ever sense of the word, nothing to warrant an investigation from the Doctor or Ianto, “Come on, hurry up, get in there. Come on. Arthur! _Arthur_, will you hurry up? Didn’t you hear the siren?”

“What are we doing here?” Ianto whispered, getting shushed in response as Mr Lloyd was told off by his wife

“Oh, keep your voice down, will you? It’s an air raid! Get in. Look, there’s a war on.” She had her hands on her hips looking vaguely threatening

“I know there’s a war on.” Her husband grumbled as he climbed down into the shelter, “Don’t push me.”

The Doctor nodded ever so slightly once the family were gone, “There” Ianto followed his eye line and saw the woman from the alley enter the garden and sneak inside the house, “That’s what were doing here”

It hadn’t taken the Doctor long to spot and subsequently follow the girl they’d met earlier, where she went so did they. If that meant sneaking into a strangers house to get some answers well he was more than happy to hope over a fence or two. Ianto watched the Doctor go with a sigh before resigning himself to following along. He briefly got to reap the rewards of a misspent youth by vaulting over the fence with ease but after that he was back to felling practically useless as he followed The Doctor inside the house.

The house was what he would expect from the 1940’s, complete with floral wallpaper, antique carved wooden furniture and the smell of a grandmothers perfume permeating the air. Creeping about on wooden floorboards was never easy but they seemed to be in luck as the Lloyds took great pride in their home, making it an easy task as The Doctor carefully peered through the doorway into the dining room.

It was full of kids, all sat around the table looking ravenous as the woman from before handed out plates, “It’s got to be black market,” one of the older boys was saying, “He didn’t get all this on coupons.”

“Ernie, how many times,” the young woman chided him, “We are guests in this house, we will not make comments of that kind” she punished him, “Washing up” she paused as he complained, the others laughing at him, “I’ve never seen you at one of these before,” she turned to one of the young boys, “Sleeping rough?”

“Yes, miss,” the little boy nodded nervously but he needn’t of been frightened as she welcomed him with open arms

“All right then,” She smiled gently as she finished carving, hanging the plate across the table for the children to pass around, “Now remember,” she interrupted their happy cheers, “one slice each. And I want to see everyone chewing properly.”

Ianto watched with an empty stomach as the plate was passed and the children, when had he last eaten? Or slept for that matter? Apart from his few bites of that disgusting kronkburger on satellite five he hadn’t eaten since breakfast back on Earth in his cramped quarters in Mister Van Statten’s employee kitchens. It wasn’t helping that the meal smelt delicious, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a roast. Must have been well before the fall of Torchwood London and his accidental trip in time. 

He was about to suggest to the Doctor that they introduce themselves when the other man piped up at the table, dishing himself up a portion of dinner alongside the kids, “Thanks, miss.” 

Knocked for six, Ianto looked at the now glaringly obvious empty space to his right when he was sure the Doctor had been stood a few seconds ago, to where he was seated at the table. The children backed away, horrified, but the Doctor just grinned. Not wanting to frighten the kids further, Ianto stayed where he was even as his stomach complained at him while the young woman told the kids to stay where they were and not to panic. Looks like he was the lookout now.

“It’s good here, isn’t it? Who’s got the salt?” The Doctor asked, either oblivious to the fear he was invoking or choosing to ignore it 

“Get back in you seats,” the woman stared at the doctor, trying to judge if he was a threat before seemingly coming to a decision on the matter, “He shouldn’t be here either.”

“So you lot, what’s the story?” The Time Lord asked, helping himself to more of the food

“What do you mean?” Ernie, the kid that had earnt himself washing up duty, asked.

Ianto watched half disgusted and half envious as the Doctor spoke with his mouthful, “You’re homeless, right? Living rough?” 

At least the kids were eating now as well, they all looked far too thin, “Why do you want to know about us?” One of them asked, “Are you a copper?”

“‘Course I’m not a copper,” the Doctor laughed, “What’s a copper going to do to you lot? Arrest you for starving?”

Staying in the shadows, Ianto ignored the Doctor’s questioning look as the other man was clearly trying to ask why he hadn’t joined him at the table. He couldn’t explain it, something just felt off. He felt as though Mrs Lloyd was about to jump out at him with a rolling pin or something. So instead he slunk back to watch as the children laughed happily, ignoring the bombs that were falling outside that could kill them at any moment. 

God, they were just kids. What were they even doing here? Surely they should have been evacuated by now?

The Doctor seemed to be thinking along the same lines, “By my count it must be 1941,” he checked his watch, tapping it gently to make sure it was still ticking, “you lot should have been evacuated out of London and in the country by now.”

“I was evacuated, sent me to a farm,” one boy spoke up

The Doctor studied him, “Why’d you come back?”

“There was a man there.” He sulked, “Same as Ernie.”

“It’s better on the streets anyway,” Ernie glared at the other boy for dropping him in it and Ianto had to wonder, feeling a knot tightening in his chest, what had happened to the boys that made them return to London despite the dangers posed, “Nancy always gets the best food for us.” It surely couldn't have been anything good.

The rest of the children seemed to agree, all nodding and smiling at the young woman, Nancy, as The Doctor gave her an appraising look, “Is that what you do, Nancy?” He asked, “As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal, still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter. And Bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London town! Puddings for all! Unless the bombs get you.”

Nancy crossed her arms, defensive, “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Wrong with it? It’s brilliant!” The Doctor enthused, “I’m not sure whether it’s Marxism in action or a West End musical.”

“Why’d you follow me?” Nancy glared at him, “What do you want?”

“I want to know how a phone that isn’t a phone gets a phone call.” He answered and Ianto took a moment then to reflect on what was going on around him, he was in 1941, the height of the London blitz after escaping a space station run by a great big blob of an alien so far in the future it was laughable. And the Doctor was asking about his phone, “You seem to be the one to ask.”

Nancy’s eyes darted away uncomfortably, “I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it,” she pursed her lips, “that’s all I’m telling ya.”

“Ah, great, thanks.” The Doctor grinned, “And I want to find a blond in a Union Jack tee, and I mean a specific one, I didn’t just wake up this morning with a craving.” The children giggled at him and the doctor lapped it up. Nancy wasn’t so thrilled, marching over to take his plate away, “What have I done wrong?”

“You took two slices,” she snapped, wanting him gone

“THey’re not both for me, I had to take a slice for my friend. Don’t want him going hungry” The Doctor pointed his knife at Ianto before pulling a face, “Well I say friend” he seemed to get over himself as Ianto slowly crept forward out of the dimly lit hall with an apologetic smile, “Say hello”

“Hi, sorry for barging in like this” Ianto rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I don’t suppose you’ve come across something we’re looking for?” Might as well ask before they were thrown out by the ear, “It would have fallen out of the sky about a month ago but not a bomb.”

“It probably would have just buried itself in the ground somewhere,” the Doctor continued as he started to sketch with a pen and paper he’d pulled out of his pockets, “it would have looked something like… this.”

He held up the picture and Ianto barley held back a snort, positive that even the youngest of the kids at the table could do a better job. All the children leaned in, but Ianto was watching Nancy and saw her deliberately looking away. 

She knew something.

But before Ianto could gently prod her for an answer there was a knock on one of the window panes and everybody froze, pale faces losing what was left of their colour when a small voice called out for his mummy.

The Doctor leapt up, ignoring Nancy’s whispered ‘don’t’ and yanked the curtain back, confused but not surprised to see a little boy in a gas mask looking back at him. It was the others children’s reactions that shocked him, they were afraid.

“Who was the last one in?” Nancy demanded, looking scared but trying valiantly to hide it, “Who came in through the front?” When no one answered her she ran to the door and slammed it shut, sliding the bolt across quickly as the children hid

“What’s this, then?” The Doctor asked, a frown of disapproval on his face, “It’s never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know.”

“I suppose you’d know.” Nancy glared at him

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, “I do actually, yes.” Something wasn’t adding up, why would this woman who fed street urchins and risked her life to keep them safe, refuse this child and run away scared

“It’s not exactly a child.” Nancy answered his unspoken question before urging the children to leave their hiding spaces, “Right, everybody out. Across the back garden and under the fence. Now! Go! Move!” The children grabbed their coats and fled as the boy at the front door reached through the letter box to the Doctor and Ianto

_“Mummy? Mummy? Please let me in, mummy.”_ The voice begged, _“Please let me in, mummy.”_

Ianto winced in sympathy when he saw the cut on the child’s hand, “Are you all right?” They couldn’t leave a child out there in the middle of an air raid, it was inhumane…

_“Please let me in.”_ The boy pleaded, withdrawing his hand quickly when Nancy came back to throw something at it

“Oi!” Ianto glared at the woman, “What’d you do that for?” He knew a thing or two about being treated like shit as a kid and throwing stuff at a clearly injured, defenceless child was not something he’d let her get away with no matter how scared she was.

“You mustn’t let him touch you!” She warned them, “He’ll make you like him.”

The Doctor gave her a searching look, “And what’s he like?” He followed her when she tried to leave, “Nancy, what’s he like?”

“He’s empty.” She sniffed before freezing when the phone started ringing “It’s him. He can make phones ring. He can.” She insisted, “Just like with that police box you saw.” The Doctor picked up the phone and sure enough it was the little boy asking for his mummy, “Stop it” Nancy snatched the phone and put it back on the hook, no sooner had she ended the call did the radio start up in the dining room instead 

_“Mummy? Please let me in, mummy.”_ The boys voice sang as a clockwork monkey started up, making Ianto jump as he took step closer to the Doctor, _“Mummy, mummy, mummy.” _

Nancy headed towards the back door and left, telling them to stay if you want to but she couldn’t. “Doctor, maybe we should go too” Ianto suggested as the boy put his hand through the letterbox again

_“Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Please let me in.”_

“Your mummy isn’t here.” The Doctor told him

_“Are you my mummy?”_ The child kept asking

Sharing a look with Ianto, The Doctor tried again, “No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens. Well, this chicken”

_“I’m scared.”_ The hand drooped and Ianto took a step forward

“Why are those other children frightened of you?” he asked

_“Please let me in, mummy.”_ The young boy begged, _“I’m scared of the bombs.”_

Who could listen to that and leave a child out in the cold? Ianto certainly couldn’t. After checking with the Doctor, he took another step forward and reached to undo the lock, “Okay.” He told him calmly, “I’m opening the door now.” The boy pulled his hand back but when Ianto opened the door the boy had gone and the street was deserted, “Where did he go?”


	12. A Mouse in front of a Lion

Rose opened her eyes slowly, blinking lazily as her brain rebooted. Where was she again? Oh that’s right, handsome soldiers spaceship, yeah, “Urgh” she squeezed her eyes shut tight, taking a second to enjoy what would surely be the last calm moment she’d get in a while. When she opened them again to take a look around it didn't do much good as wherever she was was pretty dark, and cramped.

“Better now?” A voice startled her slightly, a less tinny version of the one who’d saved her from plummeting to her death. This must be her knight in shining armour, shame she couldn’t see him.

Rubbing her eyes, Rose asked, “You got lights in here?” Apparently all she needed to do was ask as almost immediately the cramped ship was lit up and Rose could see much better. And what a sight it was, “Thanks” the ship itself wasn’t that impressive, she bet it could fit inside one of the Tardis’ bathrooms but it wasn’t the space she was impressed with. Her saviour was one tall glass of water.

“Hello.” He smiled and even though it was pitch black outside Rose felt as if the sun itself was shining down on her.

Her lips pulled up into a smile of their own without her permission as she shyly got to her feet, “Hello”

Chuckling, the mans smile turned into a smirk, clearly teasing her as he repeated himself, “_Hello_”

“Let’s not start that again.” Rose suggested as she stretched her legs, shuffling about slightly as she took in the ship around her. It was small... compact was probably a more diplomatic way of phrasing it but she’d never been much of a diplomat. It was no Tardis but it was still impressive. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t exactly a local if he had technology like this, “So, who’re you supposed to be, then?” She asked, looking him up and down as she tried to ignore the handsome smile but it was hard work.

The man pulled out some ID and passed it over, “Captain Jack Harkness,” he introduced himself, “One Three Three Squadron, Royal Air Force. American volunteer.” 

Taking the ID, Rose grinned as she caught him in his lie. This never got old, “Liar.” Waving the paper in his confused face, she teased him right back, “This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me.” Point to Rose

Caught out, Jack grumbled, “How do you know?” 

“Two things.” She said, feeling very clever, “One, I have a friend who uses this all the time.” She paused as Jack made a small disgruntled sort of sound, before making her second point, “And two,” she read the paper again with a smile, feeling flattered, “you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you’re single and you work out.” 

Chuckling, Jack reached out to take the paper back, “Tricky thing, psychic paper.”

“Yeah.” Rose agreed as she handed it back, “Can’t let your mind wander when you’re handing it over.” Once he was again in possession of the paper slip, Jack gave her a knowing look and Rose got the distinct impression hat whatever ground she’d just earned was about to be stolen away again. 

Unfolding the paper with a slight flourish, Jack raised an eyebrow with a smirk, “Oh, interesting” he licked his bottom lip, “you sort of have a boyfriend called Mickey Smith but you consider yourself to be footloose and fancy free.” He consulted the paper when Rose scoffed, “Actually, the word you use is available.” Jack pointed to the words she couldn’t see, clearly enjoying himself

She didn’t believe him, “No way.”

“And another one,” Jack emphasised, “_very._” 

“Shall we try and get along without the psychic paper?” She suggested, looking anywhere but at Jack which was difficult in such a small space

“That would be better, wouldn’t it?” Jack put the paper away and thankfully let the whole thing go, for now

“Nice spaceship.” Rose complimented the tiny space, The Tardis had obviously ruined her for another other form of space travel but she could be polite, “Very…” she smiled, a little surprised when she turned around to see Jack was right behind her, “Spock”

She just got a blank look in response, “Who?” Jack asked but Rose just shook her head and slid past him, leaning over the pilots chair to take a look at the console. It wasn’t like she understood what she was looking at but she got the impression that Jack was the sort of man who didn't place much value in personal space. Any other time and she wouldn't be complaining but right now she still had to find The Doctor.

“Guessing you’re not a local boy, then.” She changed the subject as she nodded knowing at the system, as if she had any idea what the buttons and switches actually did.

Following ehr smoothly, Jack didn't miss a beat, “A cell phone, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics that won’t be around for at least another two decades.” He looked her up and down with a smirk that suggested he wasn’t appraising her fashion sense, “Guessing you’re not a local girl either.”

“Guessing right.” Rose murmured, only half paying attention as she tried to get a glance outside, wincing when she flexed her hands as they were covered in angry red welts. Rope burn, who would have guessed it? 

Still, could have been a lot worse, “Burn your hands on the rope?” Was it possible she had found a man that could be both sweet and flirty at the same time? The last bloke she met that was sweet and flirty had turned out to be gay and more interested in Mickey than her. She could only hope that it wasn't the same this time.

A bomb whistled past, momentarily distracting her but when she finally got a glimpse outside to see where they were she had to do a double take, “Yeah.” She answered half heartedly before pointing outside, a much more important question on her mind, “We’re parked in midair, can’t anyone down there see us?” What use was it getting rescued from falling to his death if Jack was just going to get them blown up anyway?

“No they can’t.” Jack moved closer and asked again, almost stern this time, “Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?”

Rose slowly turned around to face him, sinking down into the Captain’s chair as she asked, “Why?” keeping her arms close to her chest

“Please?” Jack sat next to her and took her hands when Rose offered them hesitantly, shining a little blue light over them, “You can stop acting now. I know exactly who you are.” He told her, “I can spot a Time Agent a mile away.”

“Time Agent” Rose repeated back to him, a little starstuck and what was that smell? His cologne was amazing

Jack started rubbing soothing circles on her wrists with his thumbs, putting Rose on the back foot as she tried to focus on what he was saying, “I’ve been expecting one of you guys to show up. Though not, I must say, by barrage balloon. Do you often travel that way?” And he was back to teasing, Rose could handle teasing better than flirting. There was no way he was gay, not with the way he was looking at her.

“Sometimes I get swept off my feet,” Rose sighed, “By balloons” she added quickly as she shook herself, “What are you doing?” She went to pull away again when Jack started wrapping a scarf around her wrists, but stopped when he gave her an impatient look

“Try to keep still” The Captain instructed as he pressed a button over Rose’s head, placing their faces very conveniently close together until Rose looked down at her hands with interest as a glowing bundle of golden lights danced across her burnt palms, “Nanogenes. Sub-atomic robots.” He explained, “The air in here is full of them. They just repaired three layers of your skin.”

Once the glowing dissipated, Jack untied her wrists and Rose flexed her hands cautiously to find no pain, “Well,” she chuckled awkwardly, “tell them thanks.”

Jack laughed with her before standing and offering her a hand up, “Right, shall we get down to business?”

“Business” Rose echoed faintly before clearing her throat and trying again, with confidence, “Business?”

Jack grabbed a bottle of champagne and pressed a button to open a hatch to the top of his ship, “Shall we have a drink on the balcony?” Not waiting for a response before walking up, “bring the glasses”

-

The Doctor had told him to stick to the plan, that nothing could go wrong if he just did as he said but Ianto disagreed for it was a stupid plan to begin with. Splitting up always led to trouble, always. Had the Doctor never watched a single horror movie? Splitting up always meant the third wheel gets killed and he was under no misconceptions hat he was very much the third wheel here. 

But only one of them could follow Nancy as the other looked for Rose. He thought he’d been given the easy job but when the agreed upon hour had passed and he had to meet back up with The Doc round the back of the Lloyds house, Ianto had come back empty handed. In his defence, there weren’t many people wandering around in the middle of an air raid that he could ask if they’d seen her. Everyone was down in their shelters, trying not to get blown up. 

He wished he could say the same for them, “Where’s Rose?” Were the first words out of the Doctors mouth once he reached him, Nancy in tow though she looked reluctant to be there.

“Couldn’t find her,” Ianto admitted, “I’m sure she’s fine though” he may only have known the woman for a short period of time but she had already given him the impression that she could handle herself almost better than The Doctor could, “What about you?”

“Nancy is going to take us to the capsule” The Doctor wasn’t happy with him, that much was evident by his tone, but they could find Rose once the city was safe

That’s what led the three of them to where they were now. Picking their way through empty streets and rubble, Ianto and the Doctor followed Nancy quietly as the sound of bombs going off in the distanced echoed around them. He knew it was a petty complaint seeing as there were bigger problems than his comfort right now, but Ianto really wished he would have worn different shoes, his tatty old trainers pinching his toes as he clambered over debris and he wouldn’t have minded a change of clothes. He was still wearing his shirt and jeans from when The Doctor had picked him up from Van Statten’s complex, the cold night air an unwelcome change to the overheated game station.

Not that he said any of this of course, he wouldn’t want to come off as whiny, “How long ago did this thing fall, Nancy?” The Doctor broke the silence that had fallen over them like an oppressive blanket

“A month ago,” she answered tersely, walking faster as if she was trying to get away from them, climbing over a pile of bricks that Ianto could only assume had been a house at some point in time. They went back to silence after that until Nancy came to an abrupt halt, “I won’t go any further,” she told them, “the bomb is over there, under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up overnight.” Ianto squinted into the distance as the Doctor pulled a pair of binoculars out of his seemingly bottomless pockets, only able to make out a few moving figures and a tall fence, “See that building? The hospital?” Nancy asked, pointing it out

“What about it?” Ianto asked when the Doctor just keep looking at the fenced off area

“That’s where the doctor is,” Nancy elaborated, “You should talk to him.”

Ianto blinked, a little confused, and figured he’d missed something while out looking for Rose. No matter, The Doctor seemed to understand so he figured the other man could fill him in on the way, “Right now I’m more interested in what’s under there.” The Doctor brushed her off, not interested in talking to this other doctor at all.

Nancy had other ideas, tugging on the sleeve of his leather jacket, “Talk to the doctor first,” she insisted

“Why?” Ianto wondered what he’d missed that was so important, what could this doctor tell them that Nancy could not?

“Because then maybe you won’t want to get inside.” She told them, turning away and walking back in the direction they’d come from without another word

“Where you going?” The Doctor called after her, still looking though his binoculars

Ianto didn’t think she was going to stop and answer but she surprised him by turning around one last time, “There was a lot of food in that house. I’ve got mouths to feed. It should be safe enough now.”

Ianto kind of wanted to thump the other man for being so blatantly rude, still not paying their guide any mind as he continued to peer through his binoculars, “Can I ask you something?” The Doctor proceeded to do so without pausing for comment, “Who did you lose?”

“What?” She asked defensively and if Ianto hadn’t wanted to thump him before, he certainly did now. That is not the sort of question you ask someone during the Second World War.

Finally putting the binoculars down, The Doctor had the decency to look Nancy in the eye when he asked for a second time, “The way you look after all those kids, it’s because you lost somebody isn’t it?” He pressed, “You’re doing all this to make up for it. So, who did you lose?”

Ianto was about to tell her she didn’t owe him any answers when she looked away and quietly told them, “My little brother,” she wasn’t looking at either of them, looking away as if it would hurt less if she didn’t have to meet their eye, “Jamie. One night I went out looking for food, same night that thing fell.” She sniffed, “I told him not to follow me, I told him it was dangerous… but he- he just didn’t like being on his own.”

“What happened?” the Doctor asked.

Nancy gave him a dark look, “In the middle of an air raid? What do you think happened?”

A tense silence grew between the three and Ianto actually raised his hand to slap the other man when he started chuckling, only stopping at the last minute when The Doctor spoke, “Amazing,” he said as Ianto lowered his hand, “1941, right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country falling like dominos. Nothing can stop it, nothing, until one tiny damp little island says No! No, not here!” He laughed again, “A mouse in front of a lion. You’re amazing, the lot of you. I don’t know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me.” He spared her one of his trademark insane smiles before shooing her away, “Off you go then, do what you’ve got to do.”

They watched her go, following her with their eyes until she rounded a corner out of sight, “Well,” Ianto looked up towards the hospital, “Come on then, I suppose we’d better find this Doctor”


	13. I Have My Moments

Everything was going to plan, he had his mark smiling and drinking with him in front of the Big Ben, a little more flirting, a tad more of the good old fashioned charm and he’d have her exactly where he wanted her. Jack grinned at the woman, Rose she had called herself, and leant in to let her get another whiff of his pheromones, misjudging her reaction and sending her vaulting to her feet with a nervous look about her. He decided not to follow, staying where he was, slowly sipping his drink, “Rose?”

“Y’know, it’s getting a bit late,” she shifted from foot to foot, he’d definitely come on a little too strong, poor kitten was like a deer in headlights, “I really should be getting back”

“We’re discussing business,” Jack continued to smile easily as he plotted his next move, it was obvious she wasn’t the senior agent, most probably a rookie in training but a cute one at that. He needed her and her partner to buy his latest piece of space junk and he had to seal the deal fast, the bomb was going to land soon but he had to time it right, too soon and they’d get to see what they’d bought and too late he wouldn’t make the sale.

She laughed and raised her glass at him, “This isn’t business, this is champagne.”

“I try never to discuss business with a clear head,” she didn’t seem too impressed with him though so he turned the tables and set the glass down, she wanted to talk business they could talk business, “Are you travelling alone?” He asked as he joined her by the hatch leading back downstairs, “Are you authorised to negotiate with me?”

“What are we negotiating?” She asked and Jack couldn’t help but find her false confidence cute, he wondered who her partner was and whether he could score a quick tumble between the sheets with the two of them as well. He might be pushing his luck with thoughts like that but he’d swung better with worse odds.

“I’ve found something for the Time Agency, something they’d like to buy.” He tried to keep them on track, “Are you empowered to make payment?”

“Well,” she blustered a little, “I should talk to my… companion,” 

Now that made Jack pause, ‘companion’ wasn’t a term often used by time agents and he should know, partner was far more common -pain in the ass had been what he called his for the most part- as it had less emotional attachment. If newbie was going around calling her partner her ‘companion’ then he’d have to be careful. He’d met jealous agents before and it never ended prettily, “Companion?”

“Yeah, I should really be getting back to him,” she elaborated much to Jack’s disappointment, he’d been hoping her partner had been female as guys tended to take a little while longer to warm up to him. He supposed he might still be in with a shot though.

“Him?”

“Yes,” Rose took a small step back, “Do you have the time?” She watched Jack fish a remote out of his pocket and point it to the left, lighting up the face of Big Ben as it struck half nine, “Okay, that was flash.” She smothered a smile, “That was on the flash side.”

“So when you say your companion,” Jack asked, pulling Rose close by the waist until there wasn’t an inch between them, “just how disappointed should I be?”

Rose would have let her jaw drop if it were different circumstances but right now Jack was holding her hand and was about to press a kiss to it, “Okay, we’re standing in midair.” Jack hummed and Rose continued, “On a spaceship, during a German air raid.” He smelt so good, “Do you really think now’s a good time to be coming on to me?”

Jack pulled back and nodded with understanding, “Perhaps not.” He turned his back and counted down from three, Rose did not disappoint

“It was just a suggestion.” 

Bingo, “Do you like Glenn Miller?” He pressed another button on his remote without waiting for a response, everyone loved Glenn Miller, he refused to believe otherwise, and pulled her close so they could dance. 

“It’s 1941, the height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship.” He said, “The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever.” He pulled back slightly to gauge her reaction, “That’s your deadline. That’s the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?”

“Do you know what I think?” Rose asked when Jack pulled away

“What?” Her eyes were slightly glassy, maybe he’d overdone it a little with the pheromones

“I think you were talking just then.” Her tone was mostly teasing but if she was being completely honest Jack was very distracting, he smelt so…

“Two hours, the bomb falls.” Jack summarised, “There’ll be nothing left but dust and a crater.”

Rose hummed, this was like something out of a film, she thought to himself. A handsome stranger rescued her from certain death, they shared a waltz and some champagne with a beautiful, if tragic backdrop and now… well now Jack was asking for some money in an exchange for a warship but no one was perfect.

“Are you listening to any of this?” Jack snapped her out of it and Rose wondered just how much she’d had to drink

She really should be getting back to The Doctor and Ianto, “You used to be a Time Agent, now you’re some kind of freelancer.”

“Well, that’s a little harsh.” Jack yanked her forward into a small dip, “I like to think of myself as a criminal.”

“Oh I bet you do” Rose giggled

Jack thought she was adorable, like a little kitten, “So, this companion of yours, does he handle the business?” He asked, releasing her from his hold

“I delegate a lot of that,” Rose bluffed, “but yeah,”

“Well,” Jack tilted his head to one side, “maybe we should go find them.”

“And how’re you going to do that?”

Jack pulled back his sleeve to reveal a fancy looking wrist strap and hit a few keys, “Easy. I’ll do a scan for alien tech” Finally, Rose turned to hide a smile, a professional.

-

“Don’t you think it’s a bit creepy?” Ianto whispered as they walked inside, the long dark corridors seemingly stretching for miles as they investigated the wards. Every bed had a patient in in, “Why are they all wearing gasmasks?” 

“You’ll find them everywhere.” The elderly doctor they had been sent to find startled them as he appeared out of nowhere, leaning heavily on a walking stick, “In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them.”

“Yes, we saw.” The Doctor repeated Ianto’s question, “Why are they still wearing gas masks?”

The elderly man levered himself down into a chair, “They’re not. Who are you?”

“I’m, er… Are you the doctor?” The Doctor asked, not wanting things to get complicated 

The man introduced himself, “Doctor Constantine,” he asked again, “And you are?” 

Ianto stepped forward, “Nancy sent us, we wanted to know more about the bomb” 

Constantine’s eyes flickered back and forth between them as he debated what to tell them, “What do you know about it?”

“Nothing.” Ianto glanced back at the Doctor, “Why we were asking. What do you know?”

“Only what it’s done.” Constantine told him grimly as the Doctor moved to take a closer look at the patients, “These people, can you guess how many were caught up in the blast?”

“All of them?” Ianto hazarded a guess, “Half?” he changed her answer when Dr Constantine shook his head

“None of them were.” He chuckled before it was overtaken by a cough, causing him to slouch further in his chair 

The Doctor, of course, noticed, “You’re very sick.”

“Dying, I should think.” He agreed, “I just haven’t been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?”

“I have my moments.” The Doctor admitted, catching a glimpse of Ianto as he rolled his eyes and decided not to comment.

Constantine waved one of his hands at the nearest bed, “Have you examined any of them yet?” And warned him once he got a resounding ‘no’ from The Doctor, not to touch the flesh. “Conclusions?”

Reading the results from his sonic, The Doctor reported them back, “Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There’s some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can’t see any burns.” He was told to examine another and stepped back in shock at what he found, “This isn’t possible.”

“What?” Ianto asked him when Doctor Constantine told him to examine another, “What is it?” That didn’t sound good

“This isn’t possible,” The Doctor examined his third and final patient and explained to Ianto, “They’ve all got the same injuries”

“Yes.”

“Exactly the same?” Ianto asked, looking around at the multiple bodies all lying still around them. He had to disagree, while highly improbable it wasn't impossible. Knowing his luck this was aliens, deadly aliens that wanted to kill him. He didnt have the best track record.

Nodding, doctor Constantine muffled a cough, “Yes.”

“Identical, all of them, right down to the scar on the back of the hand-” The Doctor stopped as his eyes slid to the matching scar etched into Dr Constantine’s hand as he clutched his walking stick firmly, “How did this happen? How did it start?”

“When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim.” Constantine told them, “His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that?” He asked, “What would you say was the cause of death?”

“The head trauma.” Ianto answered

Constantine shook his head, “No.”

“Asphyxiation.” The Doctor had a go

“No.” He repeated himself

Looking to Ianto, he shrugged, so The Doctor tried again, “The collapse of the chest cavity”

But he was still wrong, “No.”

“All right.” Ianto took the bait, fed up with the guessing game, “What was the cause of death?”

Doctor Constantine pulled out his hanky and coughed into it, “There wasn’t one.” He told them once his throat was clear, “They’re not dead.” He reached out with his walking stick and hit the waste basket by the side of his desk, the noise both startling the Doctor and Ianto as well as making the patients sit bolt upright in their beds, “It’s all right.” Constantine reassured them, “They’re harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don’t die.”

“And they’ve just been left here?” Ianto asked with disbelief, “Nobody’s doing anything?” he watched as the patients settled down again, still feeling disconcerted

Affronted, Dr Constantine defended himself, “I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?”

“Just you?” The Doctor checked, “You’re the only one here?”

The old man seemed to wither in his chair, becoming almost smaller as he spoke, “Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither.” He roused a bit, “But I’m still a doctor.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling.” The Doctor watched as Constantine started coughing again, more violently this time and held out a hand to stop Ianto going over to him, “Don’t” 

“There are isolated cases.” Constantine managed to gasp out between bouts of coughing, “Isolated cases breaking out all over London. Stay back, stay back.” He warned them, “Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two.” He doubled over in his chair as he struggled for breath, “That’s where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again.”

“Nancy?’ Ianto asked

“It was her brother.” Constantine hacked, “She knows more than she’s saying. She won’t tell me, but she mi-mi-mi,” the man clutched at the back of his jaw and he seemed to be struggling with something, “_mummy? Are… you… my… mummy?_”

Ianto’s eyes widened, and the Doctor was sure his did as well. They watched together, frozen in some blend of shock and horror as Constantine’s face warped. His jaw extending all the way as the muzzle of a gas mask formed. The skin around his eyes sank and morphed into the goggles. Bone rearranged itself with sickening pops and cracks.

Running about of the room, Ianto and The Doctor barely had the chance to catch their breath before the next shock of the night was upon them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know who finally meets next chapter! Hope you enjoy what’s to come :)


	14. Jack meets a Tiger

Jack couldn’t decide if his night kept getting better or worse, on the one hand he’d found a time agent he could potentially sell his space junk to but on the other she was a bit of a wildcard who kept throwing new factors he had to consider into the mix. New factors were dangerous in his line of work, you could never be too careful. One slight miscalculation, one underestimation could sign his death certificate. He couldn't stress enough how careful he needed to be, one slip and he was done for.

After getting a lock on some alien tech at the hospital he’d suggested to Rose that they go take a look and see if they can find her friend. Jack had his new strategy all planned out as they started chatting on the way over but boy did she like to mess up his schedule, “So your companion,” he angled for some more information as he tired to hurry her along, “He often break into places while you get yourself into trouble?”

Rose smiled to herself as they strolled down the empty streets, “Well you could say that, he…”

When she didn’t finish, Jack prompted her, needing all the help he could get, “He what?” he needed to know what and who he was dealing with.

“It doesn’t matter,” Rose shook her head, thinking to herself that they really didn’t have time to get into what the Doctor was, he was mad but she trusted him with her life, that’s all that mattered. Trying to explain anything else would take far too long.

“Does he have a name?” Jack kept at it, praying it wasn’t someone he knew or the jig was up

“A name?” Rose grinned, “Yeah, Mr Spock” Ianto was going to love that, speaking of, “And Ianto Jones”

“Two?” Jack asked, thrown for six. It wasn’t often you got three agents working together, and what sort of name was _Ianto?_ It didn’t sound like a human name, maybe they were traveling with an alien. He had his fingers crossed for something attractive, maybe a being with tentacles, they could be fun in bed, “I see”

“Don’t worry about them,” Rose assured him as they reached the hospital gates, already unlocked and open for them, “After you”

Taking the lead, Jack walked brusquely down the eerie corridors, he’d heard rumours of something dodgy going on in this place and was eager to leave as soon as possible, “Hello?” He called out, checking his wrist strap for signs of life and surprised to see they were surrounded by alive patients, “Hello?” Something just felt wrong about this place, the bodies surrounding them in the wards were as still as statues, he couldn't even see them breathing.

They turned a corner and suddenly came face to face with two men who looked like they’d just seen a ghost, one was fairly tall in a leather jacket, big ears and a large nose. Jack deduced he was the one in charge as the man next to him, well... wow. He was young, almost too young, with two beautiful blue eyes, a frankly adorable button nose and was wearing a sinful outfit. Jack had thought blondie was cute but if she was a kitten he’d just found a tiger, “Hello” he practically purred at the young man, fighting the urge to ravish him when he blushed slightly. What a pleasant surprise.

“Hello” the young man replied, clearing his throat and what was that accent? It was positively scandalous, those vowels…

Business, Jack had to remind himself. Rose had told him Mr Spock was the man in charge and clearly the older gentleman was the boss, “Good evening, hope we’re not interrupting” Jack clasped the man’s hand, “I’m Captain Jack Harkness, I’ve been hearing all about you on the way over.”

“He knows,” Rose interrupted, “I told him about us being Time Agents.”

Jack was too busy watching Jones to pay much attention to the other two, “Pleasure to meet you Mr. Spock,” he walked around him and followed the young man through a set of doors, leaving the two agents to catch up behind him. Hopefully Rose was putting in a good word while he tested the waters with the new boy.

“I didn’t catch your name” he caught up with the other man and offered him a hand as well as he joined him in the ward.

“Ianto Jones.” Ianto shook his hand but quickly took a step back and looked over his shoulder for his friends

Oh he was shy, Jack loved the shy ones, “That’s an unusual name,” he flirted, “Exotic”

Ianto quirked an eyebrow, and gave him a Look, “It’s welsh,” he didn’t seem impressed, “pretty common actually”

“Ah,” Jack didn’t let that phase him, firing on all cylinders in his attempts at seduction, “What a lovely accent, you know-”

He lost Ianto’s attention almost immediately as his friends returned though he tried not to feel too petty when the man turned to give Rose a hug. At least he now knew they weren’t romantically attached, everything about them screamed ‘friend’ but he couldn’t say the same between the girl and Mr Spock. Still, that just mean the could focus all his seduction on the boy instead.

-

Back in the Lloyds household, Nancy had returned for the remains of the meal, thinking that it would feed the kids for at least another couple of days, when the radio turned on by itself, _“Please, mummy.”_ The boys voice pleaded through the tinny speakers, _“Please let me in. I’m scared of the bombs, mummy. Please, mummy.”_ Nancy froze, her blood running cold as her heart pounded when the front door slammed, _“mummy”_ the voice sang, _“mummy”_

With little other choice, Nancy was forced to hide under the table, her hands shaking as she took a peek under the tablecloth to see two familiar feet walk along the hallway.

-

At the same time in the Hospital Jack was using his ‘fancy wirstrap’ as Ianto had mentally dubbed it, to examine the patients. Definitely much more Spock than the Doctors screwdriver, he still couldn’t believe that Rose had told the Captain that the Doc was called ‘Mr Spock’, his face had been priceless, “This just isn’t possible. How did this happen?” Jack asked, expecting the Doctor to have all the answers and to be fair, Rose expected him to know what was going on as well. That was the Doctors thing, he ran around and he knew stuff.

“What kind of Chula ship landed here?” He asked instead, ignoring him as he placed himself firmly between his companions and Rose’s new stray

Jack gave him a perplexed look, “What?”

“He said it was a warship.” Rose explained, “He said he parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb’s going to fall on it unless we make him an offer.” 

“What kind of warship?” The Doctor pressed

Jack threw his arms up in the air, “Does it matter? It’s got nothing to do with this.”

The Doctor was not in the mood to play games though and had no qualms in telling Jack exactly what he thought, “This started at the bomb site. It’s got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?” 

“An ambulance!” Jack snapped, “Look.” He produced a hologram of it from his fancy wrist strap, maybe Ianto should come up with a better name for it-or better yet ask him what it’s actually called but now really wasn’t the time, “That’s what you chased through the Time Vortex. It’s space junk.” He came clean, “I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It’s empty. I made sure of it.” He insisted, “Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle- love the retro look, by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait-”

“Bait?” Rose asked feeling like an idiot for not realising sooner

Jack shrugged, “I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk.”

“You said it was a war ship.” Rose accused, her opinion of Captain Handsome plummeting dramatically

Jack gave her a face that screamed ‘duh’, “They have ambulances in wars.” He walked away and ran a hand through his stupid perfectly combed hair, “It was a con. I was conning you. That’s what I am, I’m a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You’re not, are you.”

“Just a couple more freelancers.” Rose told him sourly

“Oh. Should have known.” Jack was kicking himself too but that didn’t make her feel any better, “The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean, Flag girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain and tigerpants over here? Anyway, whatever’s happening here has got nothing to do with that ship.”

“What is happening here, Doctor?” Ianto didn’t know how he felt about the new nickname but prayed it wasn’t about to start sticking. Tigerpants wasn't exactly what he would have chosen for himself after all.

The Doctor glared at the Captain, “Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot.”

“What do you mean?” Rose didn’t understand, “Rewritten how?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor hated not knowing, especially when it concerned nothing dangerous, “Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What’s the point?” Too many questions and not enough information, he felt as if he was missing something glaringly obvious right under his nose but he had no idea what it was.

-

In the Lloyds dining room Nancy held her breath as the boy entered the room, _“Mummy? Where’s my mummy? Mummy?”_ He was about to leave when an apple fell to the floor, she tried to run, she did her best but the boy pointed at the door and slammed it shut, _“Are you my mummy?”_

“It’s me. Nancy!” She cried as the child approached her

_“Are you my mummy?”_

“It’s Nancy,” she wept, “your sister.” The words were painful to say but it was the truth, “You’re dead, Jamie. You’re dead”

_“Mummy.”_ The child sang emptily, _“Mummy”_

-

“Let me take another look…” Jack said, walking away from the door and back towards the bed The Doctor was standing over. “Head trauma to the right…”

“Partial collapse of the chest cavity, laceration to the back of the hand, and the gas mask isn’t fused on. It is the face.” The Doctor filled in and Jack stared at him in confusion. He didn’t get to ask what that meant as the body jerked upright violently which had both of them scrambling away while Rose let out a small shriek, clutching Ianto’s arm tightly.

It was all of them.

All of the bodies were rising up and moving towards them. Crowding them in until they were all huddled with their backs against the wall, “Doctor,” Rose began nervously, “earlier, you said, you said not to touch them. Why? What happens when they touch you?”

_“Mummy?”_ Dozens of them asked as the Doctor tried to protect Ianto and Rose by pushing them behind himself, _“Mummy?”_ They were moving in closer and closer.

“What happens when they touch you?” Rose demanded, her voice verging on hysterical.

Ianto was the one who answered, “You’re looking at it.”


	15. Squareness Gun

Never let it be said that the Doctor didn’t have a deeply hidden, guilty pleasure, flair for dramatics. He got a thrill out of saving the day at the last minute, the bigger the save the better and as always he didn’t fail to come up with something on the spot right at the last second, “Go to your room,” he ordered the gasmask people as the others gaped at him like he’d finally lost the plot, he especially enjoyed the Captains unattractive gawp as he felt it reflected his character perfectly at the time, “Go to your room! I mean it. I’m very, very angry with you. I’m very cross.” He scolded them, “Now, go to your room!”

And then to their ultimate surprise, they did. All of them, each and every one of them returned to their beds and laid back down without a second thought.

“I’m really glad that worked,” The Doctor breathed a subtle sigh of relief as Ianto let the back of his head collide with the wall behind him, “Those would’ve been terrible last words” he looked at his companions, expecting to see their adoring amazed faces and while Rose didn't disappoint with an extra side of slightly exasperated, Ianto wasn't even looking at him.

Okay, he knew he hadn't been the nicest to the boy but something about the way he was trailing after the Captain as he went to inspect the patients rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe he just wasn't used to sharing the spotlight but he wasn't about to admit that. He just didn't want one of his companions falling in with the wrong crowd, that’s all, especially one as green as Ianto. If he knew what was good for him, he’d stay far away from the so called ‘Captain’, “So-”

The Doctor interred himself bodily between the two men and pointedly gave Captain Jack a little push as he cut Ianto off, “Ianto, ol’buddy ol’pall, go stand over there by Rose for a minute would you while I have a word with this one?”

Jack narrowed his eyes slightly at Mr Spock as he nudged a reluctant Ianto back towards Rose, he could see what he was doing but the whole protective parent act wasn't going to work on him. He could see Ianto was interested, even if it wasn’t obvious, and he wasn’t about to give up that easily. Sure, something dangerous was happening but whoever said men couldn’t multitask was wrong, “Say, Ianto?” Jack smiled charming at him when the younger man looked over, “What were you going to ask me before you were so rudely interrupted?” The cold glare he got from Mr Spock was more than worth it as Ianto perked up from the glorified naughty corner he’d been put in

“Your con,” he tilted his head to one side, “How was it supposed to work?” He was still trying to fit the puzzle pieces together and felt as though he was missing something important, something right under his nose that he couldn’t quite grasp. 

“Simple enough, really.” Jack explained as slid past Mr Spock and back towards where Rose and Ianto were standing, lounging comfortably in one of the ward chairs, “Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it’s valuable, name a price.” He listed off easily, “When he’s put fifty percent up front, oops!” He held his hands out, “A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he’s paid for, never knows he’s been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck.”

“A self-cleaning con” Ianto followed, nodding reluctantly, “That’s quite smart”

“Yeah.” The Doctor grunted as Jack grinned at him, “Perfect.” 

Jack continued to ignore him in favour of buttering Ianto up, “The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii’s nice if you want to make a vacation of it though,” he laughed, “but you’ve got to set your alarm for volcano day.” The Doctor scoffed and glared at him some more, “Getting a hint of disapproval.”

“Take a look around the room.” The Doctor placed the blame squarely at his feet, “This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did.”

“It was a burnt-out medical transporter.” Jack defended himself, “It was empty.”

“Rose, Ianto” The Doctor started walking out of the room, his companions following after him quickly, “We’re going upstairs.”

Jack debated for a second before cursing under his breath and hurried to catch up, “I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn’t land on anything living.” This wasn’t his fault, “I harmed no-one. I don’t know what’s happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it.”

“I’ll tell you what’s happening.” The Doctor scowled at him, “You forgot to set your alarm clock. It’s volcano day.”

Rose looked up at the sound of a siren, “What’s that?”

“The all clear.” Jack told them as the Doctor scoffed once more

“I wish.”

-

Nancy knew she couldn’t stay as the siren sounded and picked herself up to make a dash for it, only she froze by the back door as a boy in a gas mask blocked her way, “I-” he took it off and showed his face, it wasn’t him, “I thought you were Jamie.” She ran past the boy as he shouted for his father, not quick enough to escape as Mr Lloyd grabbed her by the arm, “Get off of me!” She shouted, “Get your hands off me now!”

It was no use though, the man kept a firm grip on her and dragged her back inside, as Mrs Lloyd shouted as well, “Oi, you! Get in! Get her in there. She’s nicked!”

-

“Mister Spock?” Jack asked at the same time Rose called out for a Doctor, perhaps it was Doctor Spock? Whatever his name was, he was up the next flight of stairs and was staring at a locked door

“Have you got a blaster?” He called down and Jack grinned, of course he had a blaster. Time to show off, he loved this part.

He ran up to join Dr Spock and glanced at the secure metal door, “Sure!” Opening that would be a piece of cake

“The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt.” He explained, “This was where they were taken.”

“What happened?” Ianto asked

The Doctor gestured for Jack to take the lead, “Let’s find out. Get it open.”

Rose leant in close and whispered, “What’s wrong with your sonic screwdriver?” 

To which the Doctor replied, “Nothing.” while Ianto kept the Captain distracted as he disintegrated the lock. He glanced at the blaster and rolled his eyes, “Sonic blaster, fifty first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?”

“You’ve been to the factories?” Jack asked, impressed

“Once.”

Too bad, he’d liked it there, “Well, they gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical.” It had been plastered across every new channel across the peninsula, “Vaporised the lot.”

“Like I said.” The Doctor grinned, “Once. There’s a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good.”

Ignoring The Doctors strange rambling, Ianto smiled at the Captain to keep him distracted as he saw what the Doctor was trying to do, “Nice blast pattern.” All things considered that’s not the dumbest thing he could have said he supposed. At least he hadn’t complimented his weapons power or something else equally as crude.

“Digital.” He boasted with a charming smile that Ianto was slowly building up a resistance to. An expectant look in his eyes as he waited for Ianto to parry back. Surprised and thrilled that he’d found himself a verbal sparring partner.

“Squareness gun.” Ianto let the Doctor and Rose pass him into the room, “Impressive”

Jack cocked an eyebrow as Ianto slid past him, “Yeah?”

Ianto nodded, looking over his shoulder, “I like it.”


	16. Don’t drop the Banana!

The Doctor was scowling at him when Ianto entered the room, no doubt because of the harmless conversation he’d been having with the Captain moments before. He got the impression that The Doctor wasn’t a fan of Jack and if that didn’t make him want to be friends with the man even more nothing would. It wasn’t even five hours ago that The Doc had been bitching and moaning at him, it was kind of nice not to be the least favourite for once. 

The room itself was a little different to what Ianto was expecting, he’d been picturing a bed, maybe a small tray of nurses equipment on a little table, not overturned filing cabinets, smashed up electronics and a huge broken observation window looking into a patient’s equally vandalised room, “What do you think?” The Doctor asked as he took in the scene as well, once again inserting himself between Jack and his companions as if his body alone could separate them.

“Something got out of here.” Jack answered him as he examined the scene

Rolling his eyes at the obvious answer, The Doctor looked for more, “Yeah, and?”

“Something powerful.” Jack continued as he walked further into the room, “Angry.”

“Powerful and angry.” The Doctor repeated as Ianto, Jack and Rose shuffled around quietly, exploring the mess as they went

“A child?” Jack frowned as he looked around at the children’s crayon drawings and toys, “I suppose this explains _Mummy.”_

“How could a child do this?” Rose asked as the Doctor turned on a tape machine, playing Doctor Constantine’s voice back to them

_“Do you know where you are?”_

_“Are you my mummy?”_

_“Are you aware of what’s around you? Can you see?”_

_“Are you my mummy?”_

_“What do you want? Do you know-”_

_“I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?”_

That was just plain creepy, Rose wanted out, “Doctor,” she told him as her heart started to pound loudly in her ears, “I’ve heard this voice before.”

“Us too.” Ianto told her as the tape continued

_“Mummy?”_

Rose looked around the room at all the pictures, all of them of a woman, “Always are you my mummy? Like he doesn’t know.”

_“Mummy?”_ The voice kept asking

“Why doesn’t he know?” Rose asked the Doctor

_“Are you there, mummy? Mummy?”_

-

Mr Lloyd was currently using his height and stature to try and intimidate the thief he had found in his home as he informed her that the police were on their way, “I pay for the food on this table. The sweat on my brow, that food is. The sweat on my brow. Anything else you’d like?” he asked her mockingly, “I’ve got a whole house here. Anything else you’d like to help yourself to?”

Nancy looked up at him with a sweet smile, “Yeah. I’d like some wire cutters, please. Something that can cut through barbed wire. Oh, and a torch. Don’t look like that, Mister Lloyd.” She rolled her eyes when he gave her a baffled look, “I know you’ve got plenty of tools in here. I’ve been watching this house for ages. And I’d like another look round your kitchen cupboards. I was in a hurry the first time. I want to see if there’s anything I missed.”

“The food on this table-”

Nancy cut him off as he started to shout, “It’s an awful lot of food, isn’t it, Mister Lloyd? A lot more than on anyone else’s table. Half this street thinks your missus must be messing about with Mister Haverstock, the butcher. But she’s not, is she?” She paused for effect, watching as he started to sweat, fear shining behind his eyes, “You are.” She accused, watching his face contort with a mixture of rage and terror, “Wire cutters. Torch. Food.” She listed her demands, “And I’d like to use your bathroom before I leave, please. Oh, look.” She taunted as she walked by, “There’s the sweat on your brow”

-

_“Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?”_

“Doctor?” Rose gave him a worried look when The Doctor made a strange sound

“Can you sense it?” He asked, tense as he stalked the room

Jack paused for a second but couldn’t feel anything odd, “Sense what?”

“Coming out of the walls” he insisted, “Can you feel it?”

_“Mummy?”_

“Funny little human brains.” He chuckled humourlessly, “How do you get around in those things?”

Rose filled Jack in when he just looked confused, “When he’s stressed, he likes to insult species.”

“Rose, I’m thinking.” Ianto noted that was the closest he’d come to telling her to be quiet since he joined them

“He cuts himself shaving,” Rose paid him no mind, “he does half an hour on life forms he’s cleverer than.”

“There are these children living rough round the bomb sites. They come out during air-raids looking for food.” The Doctor thought aloud

_“Mummy, please?”_

He continued, speaking over the tape as the little of continued to ask for his mummy, “Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed? 

Jack repeated himself for what felt like the hundredth time, “It was a med-ship. It was harmless.”

The Doctor clearly didn’t believe a word that came out his mouth, “Yes, you keep saying harmless. Suppose one of them was affected, altered?”

“Altered how?” Ianto asked

“I’m here!”

“It’s afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful.” The Doctor explained jittering about, “It doesn’t know it yet, but it will do.” He grinned, “It’s got the power of a god, and I just sent it to it’s room”

“Doctor.” Ianto felt his blood run cold

“I’m here. Can’t you see me?”

“That noise?” Ianto pointed out, “The end of the tape.” He felt his blood run cold through his veins, “It ran out about thirty seconds ago.”

“I’m here, now. Can’t you see me?”

The Doctor’s smile disappeared, “I sent it to it’s room.” He looked between the three of them, “This is it’s room.”

They all turned around slowly to see the child was there, waiting for them, “Are you my mummy? Mummy?”

Jack was ready though, or at least he thought he was, “Okay, on my signal make for the door.” He told them as the child asked him if he was it’s mummy, “Now!” He pulled out his blaster and pointed it at the child only when he looked down to see why it hadn’t fired he saw he was in fact holding a banana

“Mummy?”

The Doctor pulled Jack’s blaster from where he’d shoved it down his belt and fired it al the wall, making a square hole for them to climb through, “Go now!” He shouted urgently, “Don’t drop the banana!”

Jack stared at it in disbelief as he climbed through the wall, “Why not?!”

The Doc didn’t miss a beat, “Good source of potassium!”

Jack didn’t have time for this, he snatched his blaster back as soon as they were all through the wall and pointed it at the wall, repairing the hole, “Digital rewind.” He tossed The Doc his banana back, “Nice switch.”

“It’s from the groves of Villengard.” He grinned, “I thought it was appropriate.”

Jack gave him an exasperated and reluctantly impressed, look, “There’s really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?”

“Bananas are good.”

Ianto rolled his eyes at the two of them and was about to suggest they get a room when the wall in front of them started to crack, “That can’t be good” they ran down the corridor but were ambushed by a group of patients coming from either direction, they were trapped

“Mummy. Mummy. Mummy.”

“It’s keeping us here till it can get at us.” The Doctor pushed Rose behind him as the crack in the wall got bigger

“It’s controlling them?” Jack asked, his blaster at the ready

“It is them.” The Doctor corrected him, “It’s every living thing in this hospital.”

Jack cocked his blaster and pointed it at the wall, “Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?”

“I’ve got a sonic, er.” He pulled out his screwdriver and if the situation were any less life threatening Ianto may have been tempted to face palm, “Oh, never mind.”

Jack prompted him as he switched targets to the patients coming from the left, “What?”

“It’s sonic, okay?” The Doctor told him, “Let’s leave it at that.”

“Disrupter?” He asked, “Cannon? What?”

“It’s sonic! _Totally sonic_!” The Doctor gripped his screwdriver tightly for all the good it would do him, “I am soniced up!”

_“A sonic what?!”_ Jack shouted

The Doctor snapped, _“Screwdriver!”_

Having had enough of this, Ianto grabbed Jack’s blaster and pointed it at the floor as the child broke through the wall, “Going down!” He pulled the trigger and sent them falling down to the floor below. Jack was thankfully quick on his feet and filled the hole back in before anyone could jump down after them, “everyone okay?” Ianto asked

“Could’ve used a warning.” The Doctor grumbled as Rose checked him over

“Oh, the gratitude.” Ianto rolled his eyes in the dark

Jack didn’t waste any time teasing the Doctor, “Who has a sonic screwdriver?”

“I do.” He defended himself as Ianto mumbled to himself about lights

But Jack was on a role, “Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, _ooo_, this could be a little more sonic?”

“What, you’ve never been bored?”

“There’s got to be a light switch.” Ianto was completely ignored

“Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?” The Doctor asked but before Jack could make another comeback the patients sat up in their beds, calling out for their mummies

“Door.” Jack pointed his blaster at it but nothing happened, “Damn it!” The patients were getting closer, “It’s the special features. They really drain the battery.”

“The battery?” Ianto asked incredulously, as The Doctor used his screwdriver to open the door instead, “Are you telling me they still have batteries in the 51st century? Really? What, does it use double A’s?”

“I was going to send for another one, but somebody’s got to blow up the factory.” Jack blamed The Doctor

“Oh, I know.” Rose chipped in, “First day I met him, he blew my job up. That’s practically how he communicates.”

Now he came to think of it, Ianto had to agree, “Same here actually” technically he might have been trying to stop the building from blowing up but there was still a lot of fire involved

“Okay,” the Doctor moved away from the door, “that door should hold it for a bit.”

“The door?” Jack demanded, “The wall didn’t stop it!”

“Well, it’s got to find us first! Come on, we’re not done yet!” The Doc clapped his hands together, “Assets, assets!”

Jack gave him an unimpressed look and sat himself down in an old-timey wheelchair, “Well, I’ve got a banana, and in a pinch you could put up some shelves.” As much as Ianto was trying not to like the man he was finding it incredibly difficult when he said things like that. Dammit, why did he have to be funny?

The Doctor ignored him and gave Ianto a pointed look when he tried to cover up a laugh with a cough, “Window!”

“Barred.” Jack burst his bubble as he winked at Ianto, “Sheer drop outside. Seven stories.”

Ianto looked away and let his eyes dart round the room uncomfortably, “And no other exits.”

“Well, the assets conversation went in a flash,” Jack rolled back in his chair, “didn’t it?”

The Doctor looked to Rose, “So, where’d you pick this one up, then? Forever picking up strays”

“Doctor.” She warned as Jack and Ianto both bristled in sync behind her

Jack shrugged it off though and continued to flirt, “She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance.”

“Okay. One, we’ve got to get out of here. Two, we can’t get out of here.” The Doctor asked, “Have I missed anything?”

“Yeah.” Ianto’s eyes were fixed on the wheelchair that had been occupied a moment ago, “Jack just disappeared”


	17. Resonating Concrete

In the storeroom Ianto was still gazing almost longingly at the now empty wheelchair as Rose complained to no one in particular, “Okay, so he’s vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?” Tell him about it

“I’m making an effort not to be insulted.” The Doctor piped up from where he was inspecting the barred windows, glancing back at his companions and Ianto could practically feel him radiating some abstract form of jealousy.

“I mean…” Rose dithered, unaware of what Ianto had picked up on, “men.”

“Okay, thanks,” The Doctor smiled sarcastically, “that really helped.”

Ianto was about to agree when the radio crackled to life, Jack’s tinny but recognisable American drawl coming through loud and clear, “Ianto? Rose, Doctor? Can you hear me? I’m back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport.” He apologised, “Sorry I couldn’t take you. It’s security-keyed to my molecular structure. I’m working on it. Hang in there.” 

“How’re you speaking to us?” The Doctor asked, putting aside his annoyance for the Captain, if only briefly, to get some answers.

“Om-Com.” Jack’s radio voice told him, “I can call anything with a speaker grill.”

“Now there’s a coincidence.” The Doctor stopped what he was doing momentarily, “The child can Om-Com, too.”

“He can?” Rose asked

“Anything with a speaker grill.” He told her, “Even the Tardis phone.”

“What,” Rose took Jack’s empty seat as Ianto snapped out of the slight daze he’d fallen into when Jack started talking to them, “you mean the child can phone us?”

_“And I can hear you.”_ The child told them through the radio, _“Coming to find you. Coming to find you.”_

Jack winced aboard his ship, hands hovering over his controls, “Doctor, can you hear that?” Of course he could, “I’ll try to block out the signal. Least I can do.”

_“Coming to find you, mummy.”_

Jack grinned to himself as he queued up a song to play, unable to resist the opportunity to tease, “Remember this one, Rose?”

Moonlight Serenade came through the radio and Rose was forced to explain at The Doctor and Ianto’s confused expressions, “Our song.”

-

Nancy took a deep breath as she started cutting through the barbed wire, she’d left on of the older boys in charge back where they were hiding out and knew she had to do this. She had to see what had happened, if she could just get a closer look maybe she could stop what was happening.

Meanwhile back at the hospital Ianto was loosing the will to live as Moonlight bloody Serenade played for the sixth time in a row, Rose didn’t seem to mind though as she wheeled herself about in the wheelchair, only stopping to question the Doctor, “What you doing?”

Ianto thought he was just buzzing his screwdriver at the wall in boredom but apparently he’d been doing something useful, or at least he was attempting to, “Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete, loosen the bars.” Of course, Ianto asked himself sarcastically, why hadn’t he thought of that?

“You don’t think he’s coming back,” Ianto asked, “do you?” 

The Doctor spared him a glance, “Wouldn’t bet my life.”

“Why don’t you trust him?” Rose asked, “He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that’s up there with flossing.” She sighed when he gave her a Look, “I trust him because he’s like you. Except with dating and dancing.” She smirked when The Doctor scoffed, “What?”

“You just assume I’m…”

“What?”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and Ianto wished he had popcorn, this was better than daytime TV, “You just assume that I don’t... dance.”

“What,” Rose laughed at him, “are you telling me you do dance?”

“Nine hundred years old, me. I’ve been around a bit.” The Doctor huffed, “I think you can assume at some point I’ve _danced._”

Rose couldn’t believe her ears, “You?”

“Problem?” The Doctor asked and Ianto thought he’d never felt more like a third wheel in his life. He wished Jack would hurry up with this emergency teleport thing

“Doesn’t the universe implode or something if you dance?” Rose sat up in her seat and Ianto started to wonder if she was still talking about actual dancing

“Well, I’ve got the moves but I wouldn’t want to boast.” 

They had definitely stopped talking about dancing. Ianto wondered if he might be better of taking his chanced with the gasmask folk outside as Rose got to her feet and turned the volume up on the radio, “You’ve got the moves?” She offered the Doctor a hand, “Show me your moves.”

“Rose,” Ianto thought the Doctor looked like a startled schoolboy, “I’m trying to resonate concrete.” He had to bite his tongue at that, almost bursting out in laughter. Oh, he so had to use that line in the future given half the chance.

“Jack’ll be back.” Rose told him, “He’ll get us out. So come on. The world doesn’t end because the Doctor dances.” She grinned when The Doctor jumped down from the sideboard he’d been stood on and offered him her hands

The Doctor took them and stared at her palms, “Barrage balloon?”

“What?” Rose gave him a blank look

“You were hanging from a barrage balloon.” He repeated himself, turning her palms over in his hands 

“Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left me.” She launched into the story and Ianto had to wonder if she was exaggerating, “Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack all over my chest.”

“I’ve travelled with a lot of people, but you’re setting new records for jeopardy friendly.” He continued to just look at her hands

“Is this you dancing?” Rose teased him, “Because I’ve got notes.”

“Hanging from a rope thousands feet above London.” He prodded her hands, “Not a cut, not a bruise.”

“Yeah, I know.” Rose took her hands back and rubbed her palms together, “Captain Jack fixed me up.”

The Doctor pulled a face, “Oh, we’re calling him Captain Jack now, are we?” And Ianto wondered if they were going to have a domestic

“Well,” she hummed, “his name’s Jack and he’s a Captain.”

Very unhappy, the Doctor wondered when exactly he’d lost both of his companions to the handsome criminal Rose had dragged in with her, “He’s not really a Captain, Rose.”

“Do you know what I think? I think you’re experiencing Captain envy.” Rose shifted so they were in a better dancing stance, “You’ll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them.”

“If ever he was a Captain,” The Doctors brow furrowed slightly at teh new position he found himself in, “he’s been defrocked.”

“Yeah?” Ianto asked as he felt the teleport dump them inside what he could only assume was Jack’s ship, turning to find the man waiting for them, “Shame I missed that”

The Captain winked at him when the two lovebirds didn’t even notice they’d moved, “Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock. Most people notice when they’ve been teleported.” He teased, “You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security.”

“You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols?” The Doctor pulled his hands away from Rose and looked around the ship, “Maybe you should remember whose ship it is.”

“Oh, I do.” Jack grinned “She was gorgeous. Like I told her, be back in five minutes.”

“This is a Chula ship.” The Doctor noted as Jack bent over to check something, giving them all a lovely view

“Yeah,” he grunted, a knowing smile hidden on his face, “just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous.”

The Doctor snapped his fingers and a golden glow enveloped his hands, “They’re what fixed my hands up,” Rose told him, “Jack called them er..”

“Nanobots?” The Doctor guessed, “Nanogenes?”

“Nanogenes, yeah.” Rose nodded, glancing sideways at Ianto who was staring unashamedly at the Captain’s rear, huh, she hadn’t pegged him as the type

“Sub-atomic robots. There’s millions of them in here, see?” The Doctor drew her attention back, “Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulk head’s sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws.” He span on his heel to look at Jack when he returned to his captains chair, “Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk.”

“You only had to ask,” he grinned and winked at Ianto when he snorted at the innuendo, “In all seriousness though we’ll have to wait until I can get the nav-com back online.” He turned around in his seat, “Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing.”

The Doctor hid it well but Ianto thought he might be a little flustered beneath his thick exterior, “We were talking about dancing.”

“It didn’t look like talking.” Jack raised an eyebrow at the same time Rose shook her head, “It didn’t feel like dancing.”

Yes, Ianto thought to himself as he moved to get a better look at what Jack was doing, this was so much better than daytime TV.


	18. Missing Memories

Nancy, of course, had been captured by soldiers as soon as she uncovered the bomb that wasn’t a bomb in the middle of the restricted area, the soldiers didn’t seem to care that she was only looking for answers and locked her up next to one of the infected. Leaving her standed with him, completely defenceless despite her pleas, “Please! Listen, you can’t leave me here”

“Watch her, Jenkins.” The soldier who had captured her ignored her as she begged

“Yes, Mummy.” The sick man mumbled

“Jenkins?” The soldier gave him a disgruntled look

“Sorry, sir. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.” Jenkins heaved

Nancy struggled against her bonds, “Look, lock me up, fine, but not here.” She begged as the soldier left her alone with Jenkins, “Please, anywhere but here!”

-

“So,” Ianto hovered by Jack’s chair as he fiddled with the controls, privately thinking his ship was quite charming, cozy where the Tardis was cavernous at times. He found himself warming up to Jack even if the man had tried to con them but to be fair there wasn't much competition considering Rose only had eyes for one man and his only other choice was Doctor Grumpy himself, “you used to be a Time Agent now you’re trying to con them?” He prodded, “Gotta be a good story there”

“If it makes me sound any better, it’s not for the money.” Jack told him honestly, there was something about this one, he couldn’t quite pin it down but Ianto made him… he made him feel embarrassed about his shady past where before he had been proud, he made him want to do better and that was startlingly new. It was strange but he couldn't say he hated it. 

Ianto cocked his head to one side as he rested back against the side of the ship, crossing his feet by the ankles, “Why do you do it then?”

Jack looked over to where the Doc and Rose had stopped talking to listen in as well and was honest about his intentions, “Woke up one day when I was still working for them, found they’d stolen two years of my memories. I’d like them back.”

“They stole your memories?” Ianto thought back to Van Statten and his memory wiper, how terrified he’d be to wake up one day with no idea what he’d been doing, and felt sorry he couldn’t do anything for the man in front of him. 

“Two years of my life. No idea what I did.” Jack nodded towards the Doc, “Your friend over there doesn’t trust me, and for all I know he’s right not to.” He sat quietly for a moment until his computer system gave him an alert, “Okay, we’re good to go. Crash site?”

-

“You’ll be all right, miss.” Jenkins was shaking as he tried to reassure Nancy, “I’m just a little- just a little, just a little-” she was struggling in her handcuffs and the sound was making his head pound harder, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Please, let me go.” She begged

He shook his head, coughing, “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’ve got a scar on the back of your hand.” She tugged violently but it was no use

“Well, yes, but I don’t see what that’s got to do with anything.”

“And you feel like you’re going to be sick, like something’s forcing its way up your throat.” She pressed “I know because I’ve seen it before.”

Jenkins clutched his throat, “What’s happening to me?”

“In a minute, you won’t be you anymore. You won’t even remember you. And unless you let me go, it’s going to happen to me too.” Nancy was close to tears, “Please.”

“What’re you talking about?” Jenkins hacked into his fist

Nancy stared at him with badly concealed horror, “What’s your mother’s name?”

“Matilda.” He answered

“You got a wife?” She asked

“Yes.”

“Wife’s name? You got kids?” She asked as his eyes grew vacant, “What’s your name? Please, let me go. It’s too late for you. I’m sorry, but please let me go.”

“What do you mmmmm…” it was too late, “Mummy”

-

Jack was pleased to see he recognised a few of the soldiers guarding the crash sight as the four of them crept closer, “There it is.” Jack smiled as he spotted one man in particular, “Hey, they’ve got Algy on duty. It must be important.”

“We’ve got to get past him.” The Doctor told him as they hid behind a couple of crates

Rose smirked, “Are the words distract the guard heading in my general direction?”

“I don’t think that’d be such a good idea.” Jack told her gently

“Don’t worry I can handle it.” Rose insisted

Jack just shook his head with a knowing smile, “I’ve got to know Algy quite well since I’ve been in town. Trust me, you’re not his type. I’ll distract him.” He stepped out from behind the crates, “Don’t wait up.”

Ianto couldn’t help but smile a little at Rose’s shocked face and peaked over the top of the crate to see how things were going as The Doctor filled her in, “Relax, he’s a fifty first century guy. He’s just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing.” He was trying not to frown at the way Rose was staring after Jack and sighed when he saw Ianto was doing the same. He clearly needed to work a little harder to keep them out from under his spell.

“How flexible?” Rose asked, brining the Doctor back to earth

“Well,” he told her, “by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy.”

Now that caught Ianto’s attention, “Meaning?” 

“So many species, so little time.” The Doctor grinned, chuckling internally as Ianto was visibly shocked by information, though it didn't last long as the other man seemed to roll with it

“What, that’s what we do when we get out there?” Rose, at least, sounded disgruntled, “That’s our mission? We seek new life, and, and-”

“Dance” Ianto finished for her, a little freaked out but only because every alien he’d ever met had either tried to kill him or looked like a U-Boat Captain to borrow Jack’s turn of phrase. He couldn’t understand the appeal himself but as long as no one was getting hurt he didn't see the harm in Jack shagging a couple of aliens, it was none of his business anyway.

“Hey, champ” Jack jogged over to Algy, “How’s it hanging?”

But when Algy turned around Jack got the feeling something wasn’t quite right, _“Mummy?”_ Ah yeah, that’d do it

“Algy, old sport,” had he mentioned he loved the slang in this time period, “it’s me.” 

_“Mummy?”_ He asked

“It’s me,” He looked him up and down, no gasmask, no hand scar, “Jack.”

_“Jack?”_ Algy asked him, _“Are you my mummy?”_

He started to retch, falling to his knees, his face transforming into a gasmask before Jack’s eyes, “Stay back!” He shouted as some soldiers came to investigate, thankful he was still wearing his coat so they could recognise his rank and do as he barked out orders, “You men, stay away!” He shouted as The Doc, Ianto and Rose joined him

“The effect’s become air-borne, accelerating.” The Doctor looked a the poor man on the ground as the air raid sirens started up again

“What’s keeping us safe?” Rose asked fearfully

The Doctor gave her a serious look, “Nothing.”

“Ah, here they come again.” Jack complained as some of the victims started wandering towards them

“That’s all we need.” Ianto looked up at the sky, “Didn’t you say a bomb was going to land here?”

The Doctor didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of being blown up, “Never mind about that. If the contaminants airborne now, there’s hours left.”

“For what?” Jack asked

The Doctor snapped at him, “Till nothing, forever. For the entire human race and-” he paused for a moment, “Can anyone else hear singing?”

It was Nancy, the Doctor left the rest of the group by the crash site and followed the sound, finding her singing a nursery rhyme to one of the infected soldiers, his face fully transformed as he slumped across the table, “When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.” The doctor gestured for her to keep singing as he freed her from the handcuffs, “Down will come baby, cradle and all. Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops.” From there it was a slow extraction until they got out the door and a brusque jog back to the Chula ambulance

“You see?” Jack showed them the empty ship, “Just an ambulance.”

“That’s an ambulance?” Nancy gave it a funny look

“It’s hard to explain.” Rose told her gently, “It’s from another world.”

Jack gave the damaged exterior a confused look, “They’ve been trying to get in.”

“Of course they have.” Ianto told him, “They probably think they’ve got their hands on Hitler’s latest secret weapon.” He glanced over and saw him typing in a bunch of numbers, “What’re you doing?”

“The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you’ll know I had nothing to do with it.” It wasn’t so easy though, the machine started sparking at him and the access panel flashed red, “Didn’t happen last time.” He made his excuses

“It hadn’t crashed last time.” The Doctor snarked, “There’ll be emergency protocols.”

“Doctor,” Rose tugged on his jacket, “what is that?” A hoard of patients were battering at the hospital doors, trying to get to them, “Doctor!”

“Ianto, Captain, secure those gates!” The Doctor ordered, watching Ianto run to do as he was told while the Captain stayed to question him, “Just do it! Nancy, how’d you get in here?”

“I cut the wire.”

He threw his screwdriver to Rose and told them what to do, “Show Rose. Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D.” Explaining further when she have him a baffled look, “Reattaches barbed wire. Go!”

They really didn’t have much time to waste, The Doctor feared it might already be too late


	19. Everybody Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while but I’m back, sorry for the delay. Life has been kicking my arse and I’ve barely found time to write recently, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Jack helped Ianto with the gates and grabbed his arm before he could run back to the Doctor, “Hey,” he needed to get this out, he didn’t want the other man to think poorly of him, “I just want you to know, this wasn’t my fault, I never wanted any of this to happen” he didn’t know what he was expecting in response but when Ianto smiled at him, really smiled, Jack could have sworn he felt the earth still beneath his feet. He almost didn’t care that the world was ending because it had brought them together.

“I know Captain,” Ianto knew he wasn’t the smoothest, he didn’t have barrels of charm, or movie star good looks but he was an excellent judge of character and Jack wasn’t a bad guy, of that he was certain, “Come on, we’ve got work to do”

“I’m not really a captain” he admitted sheepishly as Ianto tugged him back to the crash site

“I know that too, but the title suits you” Ianto hadn’t meant to say that, “I just mean-”

Jack laughed hopelessly, feeling both lighter than air and crippled under pressure at the same time, “Once this is all over, I’ll be sure to ask you exactly what you meant, maybe we can even show the two of them how to dance?”

“We’ll see” Ianto cleared his throat before dashing off to help the Doctor, there wouldn’t be a later if they didn’t figure out how to stop this thing.

Meanwhile Rose and Nancy were flirting a whole lot less and mending the cuts in the barbed wire as bombs started to fall again, “Who are you?” Nancy watched as Rose pointed the strange light up tube at the wires and reconnected them like they’d never been cut in the first place, “Who are any of you?” 

“You’d never believe me if I told you.” Rose said

Nancy shook her head, “You just told me that was an ambulance from another world.” She looked out at the hospital where a swarm of patients were trying to escape, “There are people running around with gas mask heads calling for their mummies, and the sky’s full of Germans dropping bombs on me.” She asked, “Tell me, do you think there’s anything left I couldn’t believe?”

Rose decided to go for broke, “We’re time travellers from the future.”

Nancy took a few seconds before scoffing, “Mad, you are.”

“We have a time travel machine.” Rose insisted, “Seriously!”

“It’s not that. All right, you’ve got a time travel machine.” Nancy conceded, “I believe you. Believe anything, me. But what future?”

“Nancy, this isn’t the end. I know how it looks, but it’s not the end of the world or anything” Rose told her quietly as she fixed the next gap in the wire

“How can you say that?” Nancy nodded out to the city where bombs were falling like raindrops, “Look at it.”

“Listen to me.” Rose knew she probably shouldn’t be telling her any of this but what The Doctor didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, “I was born in this city. I’m from here, in like, fifty years time.”

“From here?”

“I’m a Londoner.” Rose confessed, “From your future.”

“But, but you’re not…” Nancy trailed off uncertainly 

“What?”

“German.” She finished

And then Rose decided to screw the rules, “Nancy, the Germans don’t come here.” She hoped she wasn’t doing the wrong thing, “They don’t win. Don’t tell anyone I told you so, but you know what? You win.”

“We win?”

Rose finished repairing the last of the cut wire and tugged Nancy up with her, “Come on!”

-

By the team Jack had the ambulance open, Nancy and Rose had rejoined them, “It’s empty. Look at it.” See, he knew it wasn’t his fault

“What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages?” The Doctor mocked him, “Cough drops? Rose?”

Put on the spot her mind went blank, “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.” The Doctor insisted

But Ianto got there first, “Nanogenes!” He exclaimed looking at the empty ship, “It wasn’t empty, was it?”

“There were enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species.” The Doctor confirmed and Jack seemed to realise his error as he took a step back and held a hand over his mouth

“Oh, God” he looked like he was going to be sick as he realised that this all was in fact his fault.

“Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world.” The Doctor explained, “But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gasmask.”

“And they brought him back to life?” Rose questioned “They can do that?”

“What’s life? Life’s easy. A quirk of matter. Nature’s way of keeping meat fresh.” The Doctor ranted, “Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they’re not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don’t know what a human being’s supposed to look like.” He was piecing it together at last as he went along, “All they’ve got to go on is one little body, and there’s not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they’re programmed to do. They patch it up. Can’t tell what’s gasmask and what’s skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because, you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it’s time to fix all the rest. And they won’t ever stop. They won’t ever, _ever_ stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!”

“I didn’t know.” Jack defended himself weakly, “You’ve gotta understand I didn’t mean for any of this to happen”

But the Doctor wasn’t listening, he was bent over the ambulance, working on it as the patients approached, all of them calling out for their mummy, “The ship thinks it’s under attack. It’s calling up the troops. Standard protocol.”

“But the gas mask people aren’t troops.” Rose argued

“They are now.” He stated, “This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don’t just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you.”

“That’s why the child’s so strong.” Ianto ran a hand through his hair, “Why it could use the phones”

The Doctor nodded, “It’s a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy. And now there’s an army of them.” 

The patients were surrounding them, waiting outside the barbed wire, “Why don’t they attack?” Jack didn’t even bother to check if his blaster was working, he’d never be able to take all of them 

“Good little soldiers,” The Doctor gave up on the ship, “waiting for their commander.”

“The child?” Rose suggested

“Jamie.” Nancy corrected her, “Not the child. Jamie.”

“I don’t mean to keep bringing it up,” Ianto looked to the sky, “but how long until the bomb falls?” He had survived so much, two Dalek attacks, being electrocuted by a computer in space, being dumped in the wrong time period and now he was going to die in London during the blitz, half a century before he was even born. Brilliant.

“Any second.” Jack looked to the sky as well

“What’s the matter, Captain?” The Doctor stared at him, “A bit close to the volcano for you?”

“He’s just a little boy.” Nancy sniffed

The Doctor switched his attention over to her, “I know.”

“He’s just a little boy who wants his mummy.”

“I know. There isn’t a little boy born who wouldn’t tear the world apart to save his mummy.” The doctor mused, “And this little boy can.”

Rose felt hopeless, “So what’re we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor admitted

“It’s my fault.” Nancy wiped her eyes as The Doctor tried to comfort her, “It is. It’s all my fault.”

The timelord argued with her, “How can it be your…” the patients called out for their mummy again and he looked at Nancy in a whole new light, “Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty one? Older than you look, yes?”

The bomb was getting closer, “Doctor, that bomb. We’ve got seconds.”

“You can teleport us out.” Rose was grasping at straws

But Jack denied her, “Not you guys. The nav-com’s back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols.”

“So it’s volcano day.” The Doctor met his eyes and gave him a significant look, “Do what you’ve got to do.”

“Jack?” Ianto watched him disappear before his eyes, he almost don’t believe it but then again he wasn’t given much choice in the matter. Jack had vanished, had left them to die, maybe he wasn’t that good a judge of character after all. 

The Doctor didn’t seem to care, “How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen?” He questioned a quietly crying Nancy, “Old enough to give birth, anyway. He’s not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941.” He pulled a face, “So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him.”

The four of them turned to watch as the gates burst open, Jamie standing there in the middle of it all with only one question, “Are you my mummy?”

“He’s going to keep asking, Nancy.” The Doctor pushed Rose slightly behind him, “He’s never going to stop.”

“Mummy?” 

“Tell him. Nancy, the future of the human race is in your hands.” The Doctor encourage her, “Trust me and tell him.”

They all held their breath as Nancy and Jamie made their way towards each other, climbing over rubble and even ground until they were but inches apart, “Are you my mummy?” Jamie asked, “Are you my mummy?”

“Yes.” Nancy admitted tearfully, “Yes, I am your mummy.”

“Mummy?”

“I’m here.” Nancy crouched down

“Are you my mummy?”

“I’m here.” She wild her tears

“Are you my mummy?”

She didn’t know what else to do, “Yes.”

“Are you my mummy?”

The Doctor deflated visibly with disappointment, “He doesn’t understand. There’s not enough of him left.”

“I am your mummy.” Nancy reached out, “I will always be your mummy” she pulled her child close and hugged him tight, “I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry.”

Ianto watched with baited breath as a cloud of nanogenes surrounded them, “What’s happening?”

“Doctor,” Rose interjected, “it’s changing her, we should-”

“Shh!” The Doctor actually shushed her and Ianto did a double take, “Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out!” He pleaded, “The mother, she’s the mother. It’s got to be enough information. Figure it out.”

Rose took a step closer to get a better look, “What’s happening?”

“See?” The Doctor grinned, “Recognising the same DNA.” Jamie let go and Nancy looked up at the Doctor with hope as he ran over, “Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one.” Rose and Ianto watched as The Doctor removed Jamie’s gas mask, his little face beaming up at his mummy, “Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music- you’re going to love it!”

“What happened?” Nancy asked as he held Jamie close

His sorrow turned to ineffable joy, the Doctor crowed, “The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn’t change you because you changed them! Ha-ha!” He cheered, “Mother knows best!”

“Oh, Jamie.” Nancy cried into his shoulder as she held him tight

Ianto felt as if he was the only one still hung up on the fact they we’re still all about to die, “Doctor, that bomb?”

“Taken care of it.” The doctor waved his concerns away

“How?” Ianto asked with contempt, “Got a special feature on your screwdriver?”

“Better than that,” he claimed as the bomb hurtled down towards them, “Psychology.”

At the last second possible second before impact, the explosive was caught in a blue filed of light and Jack appeared sitting on top of the damn thing. Huh, Ianto thought to himself, maybe he was spot on with his judging of character after all. “Doctor!” Jack called down to them

“Good lad!” The Doctor shouted back

“The bomb’s already commenced detonation,” Jack informed them, “I’ve put it in stasis but it won’t last long.”

“Change of plan” when had their been a plan in the first place, “Don’t need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?”

Jack nodded, “Ianto?”

“Yeah?” God he hoped he wasn’t about to be asked to help diffuse a bomb or something

The farewell came as a somewhat pleasant surprise, “Goodbye.” He and the bomb vanished for a split second before Ianto found himself shouting the mans name back, causing him to reappear momentarily, “Yes?”

“By the way,” Ianto blinked up at him, deciding to be brave, “Love the coat” and then with one last smile Jack was gone again, the bomb disappearing as Jack’s ship flew off

Ianto was too busy watching the man fly away that he almost missed the Doctor summoning the last of the nanogenes to himself, “What are you doing?” Rose asked, bringing Ianto back down to earth

“Software patch.” The Doctor twirled the golden flecks around his fingers dramatically, “Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I’ll give you moves.” He, for lack of a better word, threw the nanogenes to the waiting patients, who in turn fell to the ground as they recovered, “Everybody lives, Rose. Just this once, everybody lives!”

The patients got to their feet, all looking confused and a little chilly in the night air, something Ianto could definitely relate to but now still wasn’t the right time to complain, “You there!” Doctor Constantine came over to them looking mystified, “Who are you”

“Doctor Constantine,” Ianto intercepted him while the Doctor started fiddling with the ambulance again, “Who never left his patients. Here they all are, each and every one accounted for. All better now.”

“Yes, yes, so it seems.” Constantine frowned as he took in their surroundings, “They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?”

“Yeah, well, you know,” Ianto searched for an explication, “cutbacks.” That’d do, he glanced back to The Doctor and Rose but they were busy so he took the lead, “Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you’re probably going to find that they’re cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don’t make a big thing of it. Okay?” He patted the man on the arm before dashing back to his friend and his designated driver as an old woman hobbled over to the good doctor.

“Doctor Constantine,” she told him, “My leg’s grown back. When I come to the hospital, I had one leg.”

Constantine’s brilliant answer brought a smile to his face, “Well, there is a war on. Is it possible you miscounted?” He was going to be fine

“Right, you lot” the Doctor called their attention and got them to disburse, “Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don’t forget the welfare state!” He added in a less vibrant manner to his two companions, “Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody’s clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?”

Rose laughed at him, still feeling the buzz that came with saving the world, “Usually the first in line.”


	20. Bigger on the Inside

Inside the Tardis once more, Ianto hung back on the ramp as Rose and the Doctor laughed together by the console, “The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off,” The Doctor grinned from ear to ear, “because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!”

“Look at you,” Rose laughed at him, “beaming away like you’re Father Christmas.”

“Who says I’m not,” he pointed at her, “red bicycle when you were twelve?”

Rose stalled out for a moment, “What?”

But the Doctor just carried on, practically clicking his heels as he flicked leavers and buttons like an excited little kid, “And everybody lives, Rose! Everybody lives! I need more days like this.”

Ianto waited until the two had calmed down slightly before reminding them that he was still in fact here, “Doctor?”

And for the first time since he stepped aboard the Tardis, The Doctor gave him one of those uncontainable, actually happy to talk to you, smiles, “Go on Ianto, ask me anything.” He whooped, “I’m on fire.”

“What about Jack?” Ianto looked over at Rose who grew more serious as well, “Why did he say goodbye?”

-

On Jack’s ship he was once agin comfortably seated in his Captains chair as addressed his computer, “Okay, computer, how long can we keep the bomb in stasis?”

“Stasis decaying at ninety percent cycle. Detonation in three minutes.”

Ooh, he shied away from the screen slightly, that wasn’t good to hear, “Can we jettison it?” He asked hopefully

“Any attempt to jettison the device will precipitate detonation. One hundred percent probability.”

“We could stick it in an escape pod.” He suggested instead

“There is no escape pod on board.”

Jack kicked himself, “I see the flaw in that.” He corrected, “_I’ll_ get in the escape pod.”

The computer repeated herself, “There is no escape pod on board.”

“Did you check everywhere?” He asked

“Affirmative.”

Getting desperate, he snapped, “Under the sink?!”

“Affirmative.”

“Okay.” Jack told himself to calm down, “Out of one hundred, exactly how dead am I?”

“Termination of Captain Jack Harkness in under two minutes.” The computer told him, “One hundred percent probability.”

“Lovely.” He sighed, “Thanks. Good to know the numbers.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Okay then.” If he was going to die, he’d do so with style, “Think we’d better initiate emergency protocol four one seven.”

“Affirmative.”

The computer produce a martini and Jack wasted no time reaching for it, “Oo,” he took a sip, “a little too much vermouth. See if I come here again.” He laughed at his own joke, “Funny thing. Last time I was sentenced to death, I ordered four hyper-vodkas for my breakfast.” He ate the olives and twirled the stick they came on between his fingers, “All a bit of a blur after that. Woke up in bed with both my executioners. Mmm, lovely couple.” He chewed, “They stayed in touch. Can’t say that about most executioners. Anyway.” He sighed again, raising his glass to the control board, “Thanks for everything, computer. It’s been great.”

He didn’t regret his decision to stop the bomb, he’d do it again in a heartbeat and had resigned himself to death but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a hell of a lot grateful when the blue box he’d baited to London in the first place materialised behind him. The doors opening to allow Moonlight Serenade to drift out to him, like a siren song calling him inside.

“Well,” Ianto popped his head out the door with a relieved smile that tugged on the heartstrings that Jack hadn’t known he still had, “Hurry up then” 

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially one in such nice packaging, Jack hurried through the doors into the Tardis to find The Doctor and Rose mid dance, “Okay.” Rose was coaching him, “And right and turn. Okay, okay, try and spin me again, but this time don’t get my arm up my back.” She complained, a far sight more comfortable dancing with the Doc than she had been with Jack earlier, “No extra points for a half-nelson.”

The Doctor pulled a face, obviously unimpressed with himself, “I’m sure I used to know this stuff. Close the door, will you? Your ship’s about to blow up.” He eyed Jack warily, “There’s going to be a draught.” Jack shut the doors and the Doctor plotted a new course for them, “Welcome to the Tardis.”

“Much bigger on the inside.” Jack looked around, suitably impressed

“You’d better be.” The Doctor warned as Rose made her way over to him

She smiled shyly and offered him a hand, “I think what the Doctor’s trying to say is, you may cut in.”

Jack smiled back but was interrupted before he could even get started by The Doc, “Rose!” He exclaimed, “I’ve just remembered!” He switched the music from waltz to swing, Glenn Miller’s In the Mood if Jack wasn’t mistaken, which when it came to Miller he never was “I can dance! I can dance!”

“Actually, Doctor,” Rose was impressed with his dancing but had another partner in mind for this song, “I thought Jack might like this dance.”

“I’m sure he would, Rose. I’m absolutely certain.” The Doctor glanced pointedly at Ianto who was busy staring at his shoes wishing he didn’t exist, “But who with?”

Jack didn’t mind so much when Rose left his side for the Doctor, too busy smiling hopefully at the young man who was trying to will himself out of existence, “You know,” he sidled up to Ianto and bumped their shoulders together, “I believe you promised me a dance?”

“I…” Ianto looked at Jack’s outstretched hand and then up to his almost painfully hopeful expression, his body betraying him as his hand reached up to slide into the offered one, “Oh!” Jack wasted no time pulling him close so they could dance, “Uh, I’m not exactly much of a dancer” Ianto’s eyes were glued to his feet, half scared he’d step on Jack’s toes, “Much less, I mean” Jack dipped him slightly before giving him a twirl, “I’ve never, uh, danced with another man before”

“That’s alright,” Jack pressed their bodies even closer together if that was possible, so his lips were ghosting Ianto’s ear, “Just follow my lead” they swayed for a few moments before the song abruptly changed again and Ianto could escape round the other side of the console to catch his breath.

Maybe home could wait a little while longer yet.


	21. It’s only been Four Days

Ianto wasn’t sure what made the doctor change his mind about going back to save Jack, or why he was allowing the man to travel with them. He wasn’t even sure why _he_ was still on board other than the fact he’d stopped asking to be taken home. Rose seemed to know something he didn’t though as she didn’t question Jack or him staying on seemingly a more permanent basis, she even suggested to the Doctor that she show them to their rooms.

Their rooms.

As if this was some sort of summer camp.

The Doctor had just nodded and went back to humming as he flittered around the console, pressing buttons and flicking leavers seemingly at random as Rose pulled them both along, “The Tardis has bedrooms down here, you can pick one each”

“What if we want to share?” Jack flirted, giving Ianto a sultry smile, “Seems a shame to pass up on the opportunity, right Ianto?”

Ignoring Rose’s giggling, Ianto made a point of taking step away from Jack, their shoulders no longer brushing occasionally as they walked, “I think I’d prefer my space actually, it’s been a long day” he was knackered to be honest, the adrenaline that had been pulling him through the last couple of hours was gone and he would kill for a sandwich and a cup of coffee round about now. Not to mention a change of clothes, “Uh, Rose? Any idea where my bag went?”

“The Tardis likes to move things, I’m sure if you ask her nicely she’ll give it back” Rose pushed a door open at random and revealed a lovely, if sparse, bedroom, “Here we are”

“Dibs,” Ianto’s eyes locked onto the bed like lasers, “Goodnight” he spared Rose a brief smile and gave Jack a warning look when he went to follow him inside before closing the door firmly and collapsing into bed without even bothering to take his shoes off.

He was asleep within seconds.

Meanwhile Jack was stood outside his door with a small pout, “Aw, I thought he liked me” he was quick to smile though when Rose pushed the door effectively across the hall from Ianto’s room open, “And I guess this is my room?”

“All yours,” she glanced back towards Ianto’s door and added, “He does like you, I haven’t known him very long but he’s the one you should thank for getting the Doctor to come back for you. He convinced him you were worth saving”

“I’ll endeavour to live up to it” Jack promised, wishing her goodnight before falling down into his own bed. It wasn’t the saucy time he’d been hoping for earlier but he surprised himself by thinking it wasn’t half bad, he had time to butter Ianto up some more and by the sound of it he was already a foot in the door. 

-

The Tardis had a fully equipped kitchen, thank the lord, so when Ianto woke up a solid ten hours later feeling ravenous it didn’t take him very long to find something to eat, “Good morning!” Rose seemed to always be smiling, even in the mornings. It was exhausting.

Ianto stalled on his way to search the cupboards, was it morning? Did space have mornings? He didn’t give it too much thought though as he found a box of cereal, “Milk?” He turned to Rose as he found a bowl, moving to look where she was pointing to find said sustenance, “Morning” he remembered his manners as he slouched down at the small table next to her, practically inhaling his breakfast

“That’s what I like to see,” Jack decided to join them just as Ianto filled his mouth with a cereal, “Nothing better than watching a sexy man eat his fill” he winked at Rose as she laughed, “Morning Rose, sleep well Ianto?”

Swallowing his mouthful, Ianto nodded, “Like a log, yourself?”

“Wonderfully, thanks for asking” Jack fixed himself some breakfast too and all but sat on Ianto’s lap, causing the younger man to scooch away with a small frown, unsure how to handle Jack’s advances. The other man had made it blinding obvious that he was interested but Ianto wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Yes, he thought Jack was handsome and yes, the other man was charming but he’d never been propositioned by a man before. Sure, he’d always been a little curious and his obsession with Harrison Ford had been a bit excessive when he was younger but it was a big jump from thinking about it occasionally to dealing with an outrageous flirt before he’d even had his first coffee of the day.

“So,” Ianto cleared his throat as he pointedly focused on Rose, “where’s the Doctor? He’s not taking us to another space station run by a massive alien blob hanging from the ceiling right?”

Jack gave him a funny look, assuming he’d heard wrong, “Sorry what?”

“That was one time,” Rose smirked at him as she ran a hand through her hair, “he’s plotting a course as we speak, said he thought it was time for a change of pace since we have someone new on board”

“He didn’t offer to go slow when I tagged along” Ianto frowned

Jack waved his hand between them to recapture their attention, “Run by a massive alien blob?” He didn’t like feeling left out, “Space station?”

“It’s a long story,” Ianto sighed, “I may never have a normal hangover again”

“Oh shut up,” Rose reached out to touch his arm, “It could have been worse” as it was he should count himself lucky that he didn’t have a great big door in his head, throwing up frozen sick cubes might not be pleasant but it could have been so much worse

Ianto finished his cereal and had to concede she was right, “I suppose it could have been, yeah. Still, not exactly pleasant”

“Let’s hope the Doc has a nice destination in mind for today then,” Jack grinned around his spoon, “It’s been a while since I’ve visited a planet just for the hell of it, could be fun!”

“Oh, now you’ve done it” Rose snorted, “You’ve jinxed us”

-

The Doctor let Jack do the honours, opening the Tardis doors to let him out like an over excited puppy going for a walk. If the loud gasp was anything to go by then Ianto assumed it was either something beautiful or horrific.

For once he was pleasantly surprised.

Everyone was silent for a few moments as they drank it in, the solid presence of the Tardis at their backs and the promise of a new world shining brightly all around them. Ianto couldn’t help but wish his own first trip outside the box has been so delightful. The sky above them was a pale blue and the scenery, while not familiar, wasn’t unearthly. If not for the twin suns in the sky Ianto might have been fooled that they were still on earth. 

“It’s beautiful” Jack was the first to speak as he breathed in the air, “Where are we?”

“Nowhere,” The Doctor insisted at his companions annoyed and exasperated expressions, “no really. This planet is called Nowhere, at least, that’s the closest translation into English.” He looked across the horizon, his eyes sweeping over the mountains in the distance that were capped with snow even as the suns shone down at them, “No one ever comes here, we’re lightyears away from any other civilisation, this planet is empty, always has been, always will”

Ianto crouched down to inspect the grass he was standing on, interested to see that the blades were slightly thinner than the norm on earth, tinged blue but not overly so, “It’s a paradise”

Hiding a smile behind her hand when she turned to see Jack enjoying a much different view as Ianto bent over to examine the grass, Rose agreed with him, “It’s so quiet, it’s stunning”

“It sure is,” Jack couldn’t help himself, grinning at Ianto as he straightened up with flushed cheeks, “So, are we going to explore or what?” He grabbed Ianto’s hand and pulled him away from the Tardis, taking off in a random direction, not really caring if the others followed. He could find his way back no problem, “this way”

“I can walk just fine on my own” Ianto extracted his hand from Jack’s grip, scarlet as Rose and the Doctor followed slowly behind them, “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”

Jack didn’t let himself be phased, still smiling away as he wrapped an arm around Ianto’s shoulder instead, he was a very tactile person, “No, but that’s all part of the fun, right?” He steered the man up a small slope, using the excuse to slide his arm from around his shoulders to his waist, “For balance” he explained with innocent eyes as Ianto glared at him.

Ianto could hear Rose laughing at him behind them and put a good two feet between himself and Jack when they reached the top of the slope. He was ready to give the man a good talking to about personal space when instead he stalled out at the vision before him.

He’s seen some wonderful things during his time aboard the Tardis, not all of it had been awful after all, but this was something else.

From the top of the small hill they’d climbed Ianto could see for miles around them. The colours of the landscape crashing into one another in a perfect meld of life and beauty. The light danced across the scenery and made it beam back at him like some crazy painting. It was like something out of a fantasy book, dazzling mountain spires dotted across the horizon, reaching high into the sky as they glittered like crystal. 

In front of them sat a meadow, the grass rolling out for what must be miles with a patchwork quilt of stunning, alien, flowers decorating it. And the smell, it was sweet on the breeze, with a distinct hint of herbs that in a way that reminded him of when his Nan would cook for him. He hadn’t thought about that in years but as he stood there, probably gawking like an idiot, it all came rushing back to him.

It was strange but as he took a deep breath in, Ianto could swear he felt the earth moving beneath his feet. It was like he could feel the planet hurting though space, it was exhilarating but left him dizzy as he closed his eyes to just feel, getting lost within it all until a hand on his arm grounded him.

“Hey, careful” Jack smiled at him gently as he opened his eyes, “You look a little faint, everything alright?” He wouldn’t mind Ianto swooning on him per say but he’d much rather enjoy their day trip with an awake participant

“Yeah, fine” Ianto flashed him a quick smile as his eyes slowly drifted back to the incredible view, “This is all… more than I’m used to”

“What?” He asked, “The Doc hasn’t brought you to a different planet before?” Jack found that hard to believe seeing as Rose seemed like a natural at this, she was already off playing detective, investigating the plant life a little way away from them, “I thought you said you’d been on some sort of space station?”

“It’s complicated,” Ianto shrugged, “I’ve only been with The Doctor and Rose for a little while, first I was a stow away, then I was the third wheel, for a while I almost felt like a prisoner and then you came along and everything changed again”

That did sound complicated, “Wow,” they certainly had been busy, “How long have you been traveling with them exactly?” Jack asked, looking out at the view as well

“About four days?” Ianto hazarded a guess, chucking to himself when Jack gave him a wide eyed look, “I met the Doctor five years ago, he dropped me off in the wrong time and after a while I bumped into a younger version of him” Ianto pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the man who was laughing with Rose, “He’s still warming up to me”

Jack let out a low whistle, knowing full well how complicated relationships could get when you threw in time travel. Deciding not to dwell on it for too long, he smirked instead, “Well, I know I speak for everyone else in the universe when I say you are extremely easy to warm up to, you could even say you were incredibly hot-” Jack frowned, pouting when Ianto laughed at him. It wasn’t a polite little chuckle, no it was a full blow, almost tears in your eyes throaty laugh, “Hey!”

“Sorry,” Ianto slapped a hand over his mouth in effort to muffle his laughter, it didn’t do much as his eyes were still shining brightly with humour, but at least he’d tried, “really, I don’t know why I found that so funny”

Jack wasn’t used to people laughing at his advances and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He could tell Ianto was interested, if only a little, by the way he was reacting to his flirting. So why was he laughing at him? Maybe he needed to change tactics, let Ianto come to him. In the meantime he just needed to look as attractive as possible, not hard considering who he is. John used to call him Sex with (and on) a Stick.

He’d just sit back and wait for Ianto to come to him, it wouldn’t take long. Right?


	22. Jack Flash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m well aware it’s been a while since I updated this, but better late than never eh? :)

The four travellers didn’t spend too long hanging about after that, The Doctor did take them on a little tour around the place, pointing out things he thought would interest them but after a while the time lord had gotten board and ushered everyone back to the Tardis so they could go somewhere a little more lively.

He was being oddly pleasant which left Ianto feeling nervous around him, The Doctor had never liked him so he found the frequent friendly smiles and acts of kindness very odd indeed, “Rose,” he caught her quickly in one of the many twisting corridors aboard the Tardis on his way to find something else to wear, “Do you think that the Doctor been acting a little strange lately?”

Shaking her head slowly, Rose thought about it, “No, why?”

“Well, he’s been nice to me” Ianto told her plainly, “It’s weird”

“Oh,” she laughed, “I might have mentioned it to him, he really didn’t mean to be rude.”

Ah, so he was only being nice because Rose had told him to. Fair enough, Ianto wasn’t going to complain, “It’s scary how much he listens to you, y’know?” He teased his friend, laughing when she gave him a shove, “I’m just saying”

“Yeah well you don’t hear me banging on about how you’ve got a certain captain wrapped around your little finger, do you?” Rose raised an eyebrow when Ianto just spluttered in response, “Oh come on, did you really think the two of you were being subtle?”

Feeling like he’d been backed into a corner, Ianto didn’t know what to say, “I don’t- It’s not-”

“What? I get it,” Rose squeezed his arm gently, trying to convey her support, “he’s very handsome, you’ve got good taste I’ll give you that.”

Eventually deciding on what to say, Ianto did what he does best and pushed down what he was feeling, “Let’s never talk about this again.” That sounded like a healthy thing to do, right? Before Rose could say or do anything else like try and argue with him, Ianto bolted from the scene as fast as he could without making it look like he was running from the situation, what he hadn’t counted on was turning the corner and slamming right into the very person who had him all shaken up in the first place, “Jack!”

Having been knocked off his feet, Jack looked up from the floor with a charming grin, “I knew you had the ability to sweep me off my feet but I’ve got to admit I envisioned it a little different tigerpants”

“Let’s not make that a thing” Ianto told him sternly as he offered him a hand up, “Sorry for knocking you over.”

“No problem,” Jack told him as he brushed himself off, “Where were you rushing off to in such a hurry then? Looking for me?”

Well he wasn’t about to tell him he’d been running away from Rose, “I was… looking for a change of clothes, who knows where the Doc is going to take us next.” Technically not a lie

“Ah,” Jack flung an arm around Ianto’s shoulder and started leading him down the corridor, “that I can help you with, apparently we’re going to this place called _Cardiff_” he butchered the pronunciation, “I’ve never been but apparently it’s a cold, dreary place inhabited by docile creatures for the most part. At least that’s what the Doc told me.”

“Did he now?” Ianto made a mental note to hide the aliens precious leather jacket when he wasn’t looking, “In that case, while we wait I can tell you all about it. I happen to know Cardiff quite well and I’m sure the Doctor didn’t do it justice.”

“By all means, I’m all yours” Jack waggled his eyebrows playfully, perfectly content to listen to Ianto enthuse about rainy Cardiff, as long as he got to keep his arm wrapped tightly around his board shoulders in the meantime, “Tell me everything.”

-

When Mickey got a text from Rose asking for him to bring her passport to the Roald Dahl Plass in Wales of all places he’d like to say he didn’t jump at the opportunity to be helpful like an overeager puppy but that would be a lie. In fact, he was on the first train to Cardiff before he’d even thought about what he was doing, it only really hit him once he saw the familiar blue box sat in blatant sight in front of the monument. With a smile he marched right up to the box, knocking loudly on the door as he waited for Rose to open them and smile at him in that way only she could.

So you could say he was surprised when an unfamiliar, threateningly handsome man open the doors instead and look him up and down, “Who the hell are you?”

“What do you mean, who the hell am I?” He asked, “Who the hell are you?”

“Captain Jack Harkness.” The man introduced himself, “Whatever your selling, we’re not buying.”

Pushing is way inside as Jack went to close the door on him, Mickey looked past him in search of Rose, “Get out of my way!”

“Don’t tell me.” Jack turned back around as Mickey barged his way inside, glancing at Rose and the Doc, “This must be Mickey.”

Looking down from where he was perched atop a ladder, doing some routine matainance on the highly sophicisticated round things decorating his Tardis walls, The Doctor tipped his head up in recognition, “Here comes trouble! How’re you doing, Ricky boy?”

“It’s Mickey” he corrected him, already wound up and he’d barely been in the timelords presence ten seconds

That is, until Rose stepped out from behind the console and walked over to him looking as beautiful as ever, “Don’t listen to him,” she told him, “he’s winding you up.”

“You look fantastic.” Mickey gave her a genuine smile, having missed her more than words could express, and pulled her in for a hug

“Aw, sweet, look at these two.” Jack looked around for Ianto but seeing as he wasn’t in the vicinity he changed his target to The Doctor instead, “How come I never get any of that?”

“Buy me a drink first.” The Doctor didn’t bother looking up from what he was doing

Enjoying their banter, Jack parried, “You’re such hard work.”

Smirking, The Doctor looked down at him, “But worth it.”

Rose, deciding she had heard enough for now, looked at Mickey expectantly, “Did you manage to find it?”

Pulling her passport out of his pocket, Mickey handed it over quickly, “There you go.”

“I can go anywhere now.” Rose boasted, waving her passport at The Doctor triumphantly

“I told you,” he sighed, “you don’t need a passport.” 

“It’s all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon,” Rose told him, rattling off the names like they were second nature, “but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I’m prepared for anything.”

“Sounds like your staying, then.” Mickey paused, the atmosphere growing awkward until he plastered a fake smile across his face and changed the topic, “So, what’re you doing in Cardiff?” He asked instead, “And who the hell’s Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don’t mind you hanging out with big-ears up there-”

“Oi!” The Doctor shouted down at him

“Look in the mirror.” Mickey glanced over at Jack, clearly not trusting his intentions at all, “But this guy, I don’t know, he’s kind of…”

“Handsome?” Jack finished for him

“More like cheesy.”

“Early twenty first Century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?” Jack asked

Mickey rolled his eyes, “It’s bad.”

“But bad means good,” Jack enjoyed riling him up, “isn’t that right?”

Still two steps behind, The Doctor called down to Mickey, “Are you saying I’m not handsome?”

Deciding to ignore the two idiots, Rose answered Mickeys question, “We just stopped off. We need to refuel.” She explained, “The thing is, Cardiff’s got this rift running through the middle of the city. It’s invisible, but it’s like an earthquake fault between different dimensions.”

“The rift was healed back in 1869.” The Doctor finally climbed down from his perch to join his companions, looking around for Ianto to see he had yet to join them. Honestly, how long did it take him to get dressed? Typical human.

Rose continued the story, “Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it.”

Jumping in where he could, Jack was sure not to be forgotten, “But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race”

“But perfect for the Tardis, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and-” The Doctor was cut off by Jack, “-Open up the engines, soak up the radiation.”

“Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!”

“Into time!” Jack declared

“And space!” Rose and The Doctor joined him in a three way high five much to Mickeys displeasure

“My God, have you seen yourselves?” He shook his head, “You all think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

Without an ounce of shame, The Doctor grinned, “Yeah.”

Rose tried to stifle her smile as she nodded along, “Yeah.”

“Yep!” Jack went to give Mickey a friendly shove when instead he was distracted and let his arm fall

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them” a new voice joined the fray and Mickey resisted the urge to frown as another attractive man came strolling through the Tardis, he really wasn’t sure about leaving Rose on her own with them. Maybe he should have accepted the doctors offer to come with but it was too late now, “I’m Ianto Jones, Rose has told us all about you” huh, Mickey thought to himself as he watched Jack Flash practically skip over to Ianto’s side with an adoring look on his face, maybe he didn’t have to worry so much after all…


	23. Innuendo Squad

When Ianto stepped out of the Tardis he felt the bottom of his stomach drop right down to his feet, they were in Cardiff, Earth and by the looks of it the early 2000s. His time. The Doctor had brought him home after all. He should be thrilled, he’d been asking to return ever since he stepped foot inside the blue box but now he was here… he didn’t want to leave just yet. When Jack had told him the Doctor was bringing them to Cardiff he had stupidly assumed he meant a Cardiff of the future, or the past, but his time was obviously up.

“Ianto?” Jack stepped out of the box and let out a low whistle, “This is Cardiff?”

Sparing the man a smile, Ianto wondered if this was it, “Yeah” he was being ridiculous, he’d only just met Jack, he had no reason to be so disappointed in the fact they were about to part ways, “I grew up not far from here, all things considering.”

“It’s…” pausing, it was clear Jack was trying to be polite as The Doctor and Rose followed Mickey out of the Tardis doors, “nice”

The Doctor pulled his ships doors tightly closed and patted the wooden panelling, oblivious to Ianto’s inner turmoil, “Should take another twenty four hours, which means we’ve got time to kill.”

“That old lady’s staring.” Mickey grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets

Nudging Ianto with his elbow, Jack tried to coax a laugh out of him, “Probably wondering what five people could do inside a small wooden box.” He laughed at his own joke, more bothered by the fact Ianto simply turned away and wondered off a few feet without so much as a smile than Mickey’s attempt at a put down that followed.

“What are you captain of,” he mocked, “the Innuendo Squad?” Making a ‘W’ with his fingers, Jack turned his back on Mickey and caught Ianto around the shoulders. Just to try and cheer him up, honestly, not because he was scared he was about to run off or something, “Wait,” Mickey called out to The Doctor as he and Rose started following the two men, “the Tardis, we can’t just leave it. Doesn’t it get noticed?”

“Yeah,” Jack had been meaning to ask, “what’s with the police box?” He asked, pulling Ianto closer under his arm, “Why does it look like that?”

Resisting the urge to laugh at Ianto’s disgruntled expression, Rose patted the Tardis’ exterior, “It’s a cloaking device.”

“It’s called a chameleon circuit.” Ianto shrugged Jack’s arm from his shoulders when The Doctor gave him a surprised look, “What? I read a file about it.” He’d had a lot of time to kill when The Doc abandoned him the first time.

“The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands,” The Doctor explained in more detail, evidently very proud, “like if this was Ancient Rome, it’d be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck.”

Mickey looked the box up and down, “So it copied a real thing? There actually was police boxes?”

“Yeah, on street corners.” The Doctor told him, “Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came, like a little prison cell.”

“Why don’t you just fix the circuit?” Jack asked, splitting his attention between pouting at Ianto and listening to the conversation going on around him.

Half defensive, half joking, The Doctor asked, “I like it, don’t you?”

“I love it.” Rose assured him, leaning against the box with a wide besotted grin

“But that’s what I meant.” Mickey said pointedly, “There’s no police boxes anymore, so doesn’t it get noticed?”

“Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town, what do they do?” The Doctor slapped his shoulder, “Walk past it. Now, stop your nagging. Let’s go and explore.”

Swapping the Tardis for her pilot, Rose leant against the Doctor instead as he picked a direction and started walking, “What’s the plan?”

“I don’t know.” He told her, “Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind’s coming from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe.”

-

Something was wrong with Ianto, he’d been miserable since he walked out the Tardis doors and Jack was determined to get to the bottom of it. While Mickey and The Doctor had been competing for Rose’s attention, Jack took it upon himself to entertain Ianto, “-and then John turns to me and he says ‘not with my blaster you won’t’ and I swear on my life he steals the ship and leaves me stranded for over two days before he grew a pair and came back to pick me up!” Laughing at himself, Jack tried not to let it show how much it bothered him that Ianto just gave him a forced smile.

The two of them had been getting along pretty well he’d thought, Ianto had even began to flirt back a little but now it was like a switch had been flicked and they were back at square one, “Is everything alright Ianto? You seem… off.” True he hadn’t known the man long but he got a sense something was up

“I’m fine” Ianto sighed, looking up at the clear sky as if it held the answers to the universe, “You were saying something about blasters and spaceships?”

Narrowing his eyes at the man, Jack tried to suss out what was wrong, “Nothing too profound.” Maybe it was Mickey’s presence that had put Ianto in a funk, “The Tardis should be ready to get going again in the morning, where do you think we’ll be going next?”

“I’m sure you’ll have fun wherever the Doctor takes you” Ianto frowned at Jack as he came to a sudden stop, “Jack?” 

Blinking rapidly, Jack tried to catch up, “You mean you’re not coming with us?” Unacceptable, absolutely not, he refused to be the third wheel on The Doctor and Rose’s dates throughout all of time and space, “Why?”

“Isn’t that why The Doctor brought us all here in the first place? To drop me off?” Ianto asked, confused, “I thought this was his way of finally getting shut of me.”

“No!” At least his miserable mood made sense now, he thought he was being kicked out, “The Tardis just needs to refuel. Besides if The Doc did try and leave you behind I’d find a way to smuggle you back onboard” Jack smirked, bumping their shoulders together as Ianto finally gave him a real smile.

Jack couldn’t even begin to imagine a world without that smile in it, Ianto was radiant when he was happy, “Thanks Jack.”

“Don’t mention it.” He pushed his luck and tried linking their arms, shrugging his shoulders when Ianto raised an eyebrow at his antics, “I’d be doing it for purely selfish reasons after all”

Rolling his eyes, Ianto relented and let Jack keep possession of his arm for a while, there was no harm in it really, “Of course, how silly of me.”

He really wasn’t ready to go home yet, he wanted to see more, do more and if he was being honest? He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Jack, the man was making him feel things that while they scared him also made his skin tingle with anticipation and nervous excitement. How could he possibly go back to a normal life without at least exploring where these feelings led him?

Normal would be waiting for him later, he’d be a fool to pass up on a once in a lifetime adventure just because he was scared after all.


	24. On the Lips, With your Lips

Lunch was a pleasant affair, with Ianto cheered up and joyful once more Jack found Cardiff was a nice enough place to be. The food was something else, he envied Rose and Ianto growing up on a planet like this, “What did you call this?” Jack asked as he took another huge bite of his meal groaning loudly at the taste with a grin as Mickey scowled and Ianto blushed, “It’s delicious”

“It’s a pasty Jack,” Rose told him when it was clear Ianto and Mickey were keeping quiet, though for very different reasons, “You’re acting as if you’ve never had one before”

Talking around his mouthful, Jack held a hand up to his mouth to stop crumbs spraying everywhere, “I haven’t actually, we should take some with us when we leave tomorrow. Hey Ianto?” He slipped an arm round the back of his chair and leaned in so their heads were close together, producing an air of intimacy between them as he lowered his voice, “Do you want to help me smuggle some aboard? I can think of a few hiding places”

Rolling his eyes, Ianto shook his head and pushed Jack by the shoulder, “I’m good, thanks” he had quickly learnt that Jack had a way of making himself smell amazing, he didn’t know if the man did it on purpose but sometimes when he got a little too close for a few seconds too long it was all too easy to feel lightheaded and short of breath.

He was blaming the scent anyway.

“Aw,” Jack pouted, giving Ianto huge begging eyes when he stood up, “Where are you going?”

“To the loo,” Ianto raised an eyebrow, “I’d ask if you want to come with me but I know better by now.”

“Don’t take too long,” Jack called as Ianto walked away, “I miss you already!”

What an idiot, a loveable one though, Ianto told himself as he made his way to the facilities to relieve himself. Running around time and space was all fun and games until you desperately needed the toilet after all, he’d learnt to go as often as possible whenever the opportunity presented itself. Ianto didn’t want to be running away from some six legged monster intent on eating his flesh and suddenly be desperate for a piss.

He was on his way back to the table when he spotted something strange, why was Jack outside? And where had he pulled that coat out from?

-

Margaret Blaine, mayor of Cardiff, approached the scale model power station she had commissioned especially and stood in the centre of the room to make her announcement, “This nuclear power station right in the heart of Cardiff city will bring jobs for all. As you can see, as Lord Mayor, I’ve had to sanction some radical redevelopments.” She was interrupted by a flash of bright light and wasn’t quite quick enough to cover her face in time, “No photographs! What did I say?” She caught herself and plastered on a fake smile, “Take pictures of the project by all means, but not me, thank you. So,” she got back on track, “Cardiff Castle will be demolished allowing the Blaidd Drwg Project to rise up, tall and proud. A monument to Welsh industry. And yes, some of you might shiver. The words nuclear power station and major population centre aren’t exactly the happiest of bedfellows.” Smiling, she assured them, “But I give you my personal guarantee that as long as I walk upon this Earth, no harm will come to any of my citizens. Now, drink up. A toast.” She raised her glass, “To the future!”

“To the future!” Everyone cheered back

“And believe me,” she finished, “it will glow.”

But nothing could ever be that easy, she hadn’t even gotten three steps away before another insolent human child was approaching her with wide eyes, “Excuse me, Mrs Blaine?” The human girl introduced herself, “My name’s Cathy Salt, I represent the Cardiff Gazette.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not doing interviews.” Margret tried to move on quickly, “I can’t bear self publicity.”

“But are you aware of the curse?” Now that caught her interest

“Whatever do you mean?” She asked, “Cathy, wasn’t it?”

Nodding, the reported dove right in, “Cathy Salt. That’s what some of your engineers are saying, that the Blaidd Drwg Project is cursed.”

“Sounds rather silly to me.” Margret tilted her head to one side

“That’s what I thought. I was just chasing a bit of local colour.” Cathy caught the mayor before she had chance to move away again, “But the funny thing is, when you start piecing it all together, it does begin to look a bit odd.”

She was beginning to become an issue, “In what way?” Margret had a very distinct way she dealt with issues

“The deaths, The number of deaths associated with this project.” Cathy listed off, “First of all, there was the entire team of the European Safety Inspectors.”

“But they were French!” The Mayor defended herself, “Its not my fault if Danger Explosives was only written in Welsh.”

“And then there was that accident with the Cardiff Heritage Committee.” Cathy continued

Margret rebuffed, “The electrocution of that swimming pool was put down to natural wear and tear.”

“And then the architect?”

“It was raining, visibility was low. my car simply couldn’t stop.”

“And then just recently, Mister Cleaver,” Cathy insisted, “the government’s nuclear adviser.”

“Slipped on an icy patch.” Margret told her

“He was decapitated.”

“It was a _very_ icy patch.” She stood firm, not giving the reporter an inch, “I’m afraid these stories are nothing more than typical small town thinking. I really haven’t got time. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Except, before he died,” Cathy blocked the Mayors way, “Mister Cleaver posted some of his findings online.”

He did what? Margret froze, “Did he now?”

“If you know where to look.” Cathy smiled, proud of herself, “He was concerned about the reactor.” 

Laughing, Margret shook her head, “Oh, all that technical stuff!”

“Specifically, that the design of the suppression pool would cause the hydrogen recombiners to fail, precipitating in the collapse in the containment isolation system and resulting in a meltdown.” Cathy rattled off without faltering once, clearly having done her research thoroughly before coming here

“Who’s been doing her homework?” Margret stopped trying to escape, this human child knew too much, she had to be dealt with, “I think, Cathy Salt, I think you and I should have a word in private”

-

Moving quickly outside, Ianto hurried over to where Jack was standing by himself, though he slowed down considerably the closer he got. Something wasn’t right, Jack looked strange, “Leaving without me already?” The man was wearing his Captains coat and he’d done something to his hair in the two minutes Ianto had taken to go to the toilet but he was still unmistakably Jack.

Whipping around, Jack’s eyes widened comically as they raked down Ianto’s figure, his shocked expression melting into a very satisfied smirk as he dragged his eyes back up to meet Ianto’s, “Never, it’s been a while since I last saw you in jeans. What’s the occasion?”

“What do you mean?” Ianto asked, had he missed something? Why was Jack acting so strange and what was it about him that wasn’t quite right?

“Hm,” Jack shook his head, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye, their noses practically touching as his eyes flickered down to Ianto’s lips, “Very cute”

And then suddenly they were kissing, Jack was kissing him and Ianto was too shocked to do anything but stand there awkwardly as Jack’s lips moulded against his own, trying and failing to invoke a reaction from him. Eventually, when it became clear Ianto wasn’t kissing him back, Jack pulled away with a confused little frown which quickly transformed into concern when he saw the panic and shock on Ianto’s face, “Hey, are you alright? I thought-”

“You kissed me” Ianto finally choked out, a hand quickly darting up to touch his mouth as he resisted the urge to wipe at it childishly, that had not been how he expected their first kiss to go, “on the lips” he added unnecessarily as Jack was well aware of that after all, “with your lips”

“Ianto?” Jack touched his arm, relieved when he didn’t pull away, something was clearly wrong, “Are you okay? You’re acting like we’ve never done that before…” stalling out, Jack looked him up and down again before tearing his hand away as if he’d been burnt, “Oh my god- are you- did- Ianto how _old_ are you?”

Repeating the question, Ianto blinked a few times and tried to work his way out of the shock he was feeling, “How old am I?” He shook his head, “I’m 25, why-”

“Oh my god!” Jack was clearly panicking now as he looked around, “It’s today, I can’t be here, timelines y’know?” Ianto really didn’t know but Jack just kept on talking, “Sorry about that, time travel is enough to do your head in sometimes,” he forced a laugh, backing away with wide eyes, “just forget you ever saw me, okay?” And with that Jack practically ran away, leaving Ianto stood, fingers still brushing his freshly kissed lips, alone on the street wondering what the hell that was all about.


	25. An Alien Mayor to Catch

Inside the small café Jack was regaling the group with a story about one of his many adventures when Ianto came shuffling towards the table with a confused frown plastered across his face, “I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks-”

“You’re lying through your teeth!” The Doctor interrupted him, calling bullshit

Rose was lapping it up though, eyes wide as she waited to hear what came next, “I’d have gone bonkers! That’s the word, bonkers!”

“I mean,” Jack grinned as Ianto sat down next to him again, continuing his tall tale, “it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean _tusks!_ And it’s woken, and it’s not happy.”

“How could you not know it was there?”

“And we’re standing there, fifteen of us, naked-”

“Naked?” Ianto asked, what had he missed now? Clearly whoever that was outside hadn’t been Jack, this Jack anyway, but their likeness was undeniable. The only logical explanation was that the Jack he had just met was a future version of the one laughing to his left. Only… if that was true and Jack had kissed him so naturally… 

He glanced across and saw Jack was fully invested in his story telling, waving his hands about as he spoke, he should really stop thinking about it, “And I’m like, oh, no, no, it’s got nothing to do with me. And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, _we are running!_ And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say-”

“I knew we should’ve turned left!” Mickey laughed loudly, having changed his tune since the last time Ianto was sat at the table

Grinning, Jack points a finger at him, “That’s my line!”

“I don’t believe you.” Rose shook her head as she laughed, “I don’t believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?”

The Doctor was otherwise preoccupied snatching a newspaper from the man sat at the next table as Jack carried on with his tale, “No, I just picked him up went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn’t stop until I hit the spacelanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out, and by the time I got fifteen light years away I realised I’m like this.” He shook dramatically, taking a peek to see if Ianto was amused but his attention was soon stolen away as the Doctor held up the front page

“And I was having such a nice day.” The timelord sighed, showing them a picture of Margaret with an air of defeat about him.

-

Something was wrong with Ianto again, he was acting jittery though he was clearly trying to hide it as the group made their way towards city hall to pay the mayor a visit, “What happened in that bathroom?” Jack tried to joke but it fell flat as Ianto just gave him a wide eyed look and a fake smile, “Really, because your acting kinda strange”

“Nothing,” Ianto frowned down at his feet, should he tell Jack? He didn’t think so, future Jack seemed to be surprised to see him so that must mean that past Jack-his Jack, didn’t know what was about to happen, “I ran into someone I wasn’t expecting to see, don’t worry about it.” He reassured Jack, bumping their shoulders together when the other man continued to give him a concerned look, “I’m fine. Come on, we’ve got an alien mayor to catch.”

“Never a dull moment.” Jack finally smiled again, causing a few errant butterflies to flutter in Ianto’s stomach, “Though I think that has more to do with you than the adventures the Docs taking us on.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere” Ianto smiled back, sighing in mock annoyance as Jack linked their arms together, though he didn’t move away either

Stepping closer, easing into Ianto’s personal space, Jack winked, “I don’t know, flattery has gotten me pretty far in the past” he was fast growing used to Ianto laughing at his flirtations, craving the sound in fact as it was much preferred to silent panic, “Just you wait, I’ll win you over eventually”

And that’s just it, he does doesn’t he? Ianto asked himself, thinking back to the kiss, technically their first kiss. He already knew that he and Jack were eventually going to get to a place where kissing was normal and that… well it kind of spoiled the surprise a bit. Looking into his eyes though, sparkling and mischievous, Ianto realised he still had a choice, he could walk away from Jack and put a stop to this right now if he really wanted to. 

The destination might be known but he still had the entire journey to enjoy, “I look forward to it” Ianto smiled shyly as he pulled a shocked Jack along, “Until then though, this is rather nice”

“Yeah,” Jack said softly, looking down at their linked arms with a tender look on his face, “Yeah, it is.”

Like all good things though, their moment came to a brisk and sudden end as the Doctors voice washed over them, “Oi, lovebirds,” he jerked a thumb at the city hall, “we’re here.”

“_Doc_” Jack complained as Ianto slipped out of his grasp, “Fine, let’s go then.” Trailing after the group, Jack went over everything the Doc and Rose had told him about their target and had a fully formed plan in place by the time they were inside, “According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family,” he started, pulling off his gloves as he went, “a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human beings, zipped inside a skin suit.” He stuffed his scarf and gloves inside his jacket as he outlined his plan, “Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That’ll designate Exit One, I’ll cover Exit Two. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Ianto,” he winked at him, “your with me. Have you got that?”

“Excuse me.” The Doctor asked him, “Who’s in charge?”

Firmly put in his place, Jack ignored Mickey’s smirk, “Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir.”

“Right, here’s the plan.” The Doctor paused for a moment before nodding his head, “Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?”

Pulling out he phone that the Tardis had presented him with, Jack prompted, “Present arms.”

“Ready.” Everyone presented their phones though it took Mickey a second or two as he forgot which pocket it was in

“Speed dial?” Jack doubled checked

“Yup.” The Doctor nodded

Rose too, “Ready.”

“Check.” Mickey agreed

Tossing his phone from one hand to the other, Jack wished them good luck, “See you in hell.” They had a slitheen to catch.


	26. The Blaidd Drwg Project

Outside the Mayor’s office The Doctor was speaking to the young man who was sat behind the desk by the door, “Hello,” he smiled, “I’ve come to see the Lord Mayor.”

The man, Idris, nodded politely, “Have you got an appointment?”

“No, just an old friend passing by.” The Doctor told him, “Bit of a surprise. Can’t wait to see her face.” 

Not sure guests would be appreciated, Idris tried to deter him, “Well, she’s just having a cup of tea.” 

Growing impatient, the Doctor shifted from foot to foot, “Just go in there and tell her the Doctor would like to see her.” He told him, “Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor.”

Getting out from behind his desk, Idris decided to humour him on the off chance that this man was indeed a medical professional and the Mayor was secretly ill, “Hang on a tick.” He let himself into the office and relayed the message, the sound of a smashing tea cup drifting through the door as the Doctor waited behind it, “Um,” Idris came out of the office looking rather stricken, “The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by. She’d love to have a chat, but, er,” he lied, “she’s up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?”

The Doctor inclined his head, “She’s climbing out of the window, isn’t she?”

Idris didn’t bother refuting it, “Yes, she is.”

Making his way out onto the office’s balcony, the Doctor spoke into his phone to let the others know, “Slitheen heading north.”

“On my way.” Rose responded

Jack grinned at Ianto as they received the message too and got ready to start running, “Over and out.”

Realising that they were actually about to comprehend an alien masquerading as the Mayor of Cardiff, Mickey had a moment or two of blind panic, “Oh my God.” But he too was soon quick on his feet

The chase in full effect, Jack was pleasantly surprised when Ianto kept pace with him seemingly effortlessly, if the circumstances were a little different this would have made an interesting first date now he thought about it. Leaping over a tea trolley, Jack looked back over his shoulder to see Ianto vaulting over it with ease as well, he loved a man who could keep up with him, “Come on, this way.” He took a sharp left and kicked a door open, running through it outside where he spotted Margaret running in their direction, “Gotcha!”

With Rose and the Doctor closing in as well from two different directions their was no chance she could escape, “Margaret!” The Doctor called out as she started removing her jewellery

“Who’s on Exit Four?” Jack demanded as she ran past the exit

“That was Mickey” Rose panted as she came to a halt, watching as Margaret ran down the road

Tumbling out of the door on queue with one foot in a bucket and the other wrapped up in toilet paper, it was clear Mickey had faced some obstacles on his own path, “Here I am.” 

“Mickey the idiot” The Doctor wasn’t impressed 

“Oh, be fair.” Rose stuck up for him, “she’s not exactly going to outrun us, is she?”

Margaret promptly proved her wrong and vanished into thin air, “She’s got a teleport!” Jack cried

“Oh, that’s cheating!” Ianto agreed, “Now we’re never going to get her.”

Having got her breath back, Rose quickly reassured them, “Oh, the Doctor’s very good at teleports.”

The Doctor swiftly held up his sonic screwdriver, scrambling Margaret’s teleport, making her reappear, running towards them instead though she quickly came to a halt and tried to teleport away again only for the Doctor to bring her back two more times, “I could do this all day.” He told her as she came to stop in front of them, out of breath with her hands held up in surrender

“This is persecution.” She whined, “Why can’t you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?”

“You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.” The Doctor told her succinctly

Oh yes, she had done that, “Apart from that”

-

Once more inside City Hall, this time with Margaret as their informal prisoner, the Doctor was trying to get to the bottom of whatever it was she was up to, “So, you’re a Slitheen, you’re on Earth, you’re trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do?” He asked, gesturing to the miniature model she had built in the centre of the room, “You build a nuclear power station. But what for?”

“A philanthropic gesture.” she told him, “I’ve learnt the error of my ways.”

He wasn’t buying it, “And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, how stupid did she think he was?

Margaret played dumb, “What rift would that be?”

“A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go _boom_” Jack made the appropriate sound effect to go with it

The Doctor agreed, “This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity.” 

“Didn’t anyone notice?” Rose asked, stricken, “Isn’t there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?”

“We’re in Cardiff. London doesn’t care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn’t notice.” Margaret paused, pulling a face as she saw Ianto nodding in the corner in agreement, “Oh. I sound like a Welshman.” She ignored the glare she was receiving from the man, “God help me, I’ve gone native.”

“Hey-” 

Cutting Ianto off, Mickey asked, “But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she’d only end up killing herself.”

“She’s got a name, you know.” Margaret pointed out

But Mickey just sneered at her, “She’s not even a she, she’s a thing.” Well now, Ianto thought to himself, she wasn’t very nice but there was no need to be so rude as to invalidate her gender. People could get in a lot of trouble for that in the future, he’d know having been stranded there for a few years himself.

“Oh, but she’s clever.” The Doctor pulled the middle section out of the model and turned it over to reveal electronics underneath, “Fantastic.”

Eyes wide, Jack started drooling over the tech, “Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?” _Hot_, Ianto’s brain supplied, he might not understand half the words that just came out of Jack’s mouth but it was hot nonetheless. He’d better not let on, Jack would be insufferable if he found out, “Oo, genius!” Jack cradled the extrapolator in his arms, “You didn’t build this?”

“I have my hobbies.” Margaret told him, “A little tinkering.”

“No, no, no.” Jack corrected her, “I mean, you really didn’t build this. Way beyond you.”

Quick to throw accusations about, Mickey crossed his arms, “I bet she stole it.”

Still not sure what the hell it even was, Rose asked, “Is it a weapon?”

“It’s transport.” Jack finally tore his gaze away from the tech to explain for the rest of them, “You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble, so you’re safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system.”

“It’s a surfboard.” Mickey summarised

“A pan-dimensional surfboard,” Jack corrected, “yeah.”

“Hot,” Ianto suddenly realised he had said it aloud that time and opened his mouth to try fix it as Jack was giving him a very interested look, “the reactor,” he added quickly, “when it explodes… it’ll be very hot and, uh, burn things. Big explosions”

It was Margaret who saved him from himself in the end, “And it would’ve worked.” She drew the attention away from him, “I’d have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation.”

“You’d blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?” Mickey accused

Margaret sneered back at him, “Like stepping on an anthill.”

Off in his own little world, The Doctor pointed at the massive banner decorating the wall, “How’d you think of the name?”

“What, Blaidd Drwg?” Margaret shrugged, “It’s Welsh.” 

“I know,” The Doctor repeated himself, “but how did you think of it?”

“I chose it at random, that’s all. I don’t know. It just sounded good.” She asked with interest, “Does it matter?”

“Blaidd Drwg.” Ianto read it aloud, smirking when he saw Jack biting his lip in the corner of his eye, “It means Bad Wolf.” 

“But I’ve heard that before.” Rose turned to the Doctor, “Bad Wolf. I’ve heard that lots of times.”

“Everywhere we go. Two words following us.” He agreed, “Bad Wolf.”

Scared by the idea, Rose asked, “But how can they be following us?”

Ever one for dramatics, the Doctor looked off into the distance as if deep in thought before cracking a smile and shaking his head, “Nah, just a coincidence.” He brushed it off, “Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we’re going to take you home.” 

“Hold on,” Jack finally set the extrapolator down, “isn’t that the easy option, like letting her go?”

Rose didn’t seem to hold the same reservations about the plan, “I don’t believe it!” She exclaimed, “We actually get to go to Raxa- Wait a minute! Raxacor…” 

“Raxacoricofallapatorius.” The doctor rattled off easily

Rose tried again, “Raxacorico…”

“fallapatorius.” The Doctor finished for her

“Raxacoricofallapatorius.” Rose beamed, “That’s it!” She cheered, “I did it!”

Effectively killing the mood, Margaret interrupted, “They have the death penalty.” She told them all, “The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death.”

Looking at her with cold eyes, The Doctor didn’t appear to care, “Not my problem”


	27. Bilingual and Ready to Mingle

So it was decided they would take Margaret back home to face her sentencing, until then she was to be kept prisoner aboard the Tardis while they refuelled. Ianto was all too happy to hang around aboard the ship as it meant he wouldn’t accidentally run into future Jack again, he didn’t think his heart could take it a second time, “I didn’t know you could speak a second language, what was that earlier?” Jack asked, looking at Ianto with a glint in his eyes as they approached the Tardis, “It sounded positively sinful.”

“It’s Welsh, I used to stay with my Nan during the summer holidays as a kid, she wouldn’t speak a word of English in the house so it was either I learnt Welsh or resorted to mime” Ianto joked, holding the Tardis door open for him as they followed the others inside, “I bet you can speak a few different languages yourself”

“A few,” Jack didn’t want to come off as arrogant but he _did_ want to impress Ianto, “I’m fluent in Galactic Standard and English, though let me tell you, your language? Makes no sense,” he paused as Ianto laughed at him, “honestly, what even are the rules? Anyway, I know conversational Judoonese, enough to get by in Sontaran. Oh,” he grinned, “And I also speak dinosaur”

“You what?” Ianto gave him a double take, calling bullshit, “Liar”

Laughing, Jack shook his head, setting the extrapolator down on the floor, “I almost got you though,” he scratched along his jaw, “I really can speak the others though.”

“Say something alien?” Ianto asked politely, sticking his bottom lip out slightly to seal the deal

How could Jack say no to that face? He couldn’t, “Okay, okay.” Racking his brains, he came to his decision and cleared his throat, “Sco. Bo. Tro. No. Flojo. Ko. Fo. To. To.”

“What was that?” Ianto laughed, “It was great,” he assured Jack who looked unsure with himself, “I loved it, what did you say?”

“You meet my requirements adequately,” he shrugged sheepishly, “The Judoon aren’t exactly known for their expression”

“I loved it,” Ianto linked his fingers behind his back awkwardly, wanting to reach out and touch Jack but not really knowing how, “really”

“No. Bo. Ho. Sho.” Ianto might not understand the words but Jack’s tone was unmistakable, as was his flirty expression, “_Sheko_”

“If you two are quite finished flirting,” The Doctor called out, “Jack, you can be getting on with wiring the extrapolator into the Tardis mainframe, maybe we can use it to refuel”

Licking his lips, Jack shrugged as he turned back to Ianto, “To be continued I guess, looks like I have a date with a surfboard for the evening”

“A pan dimensional surfboard” Ianto corrected him, letting Rose drag him away so Jack could get to work without being constantly distracted

Not one to miss the opportunity to tease her friends, Rose waisted no time in elbowing Ianto in the side, “You two seem to be getting friendly” 

“I’m quite sure I don’t know what you mean,” Ianto tried and failed to keep a straight face, “Jack… well he’s Jack”

Before Rose could poke or prod him further Margaret finally broke her self imposed silence, “This ship is impossible” she looked around with eyes wide as saucers, “It’s superb, how do you get the outside around the inside?”

“Like I’d give you the secret,” The Doctor scoffed, “yeah.”

Margaret wasn’t deterred though, “I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods.”

“Don’t worship me, I’d make a very bad god.” The Doctor walked round the console to see what Jack was up to, “You wouldn’t get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?”

Fiddling with the extrapolator, Jack looked up from his work and gave an update, “This extrapolator’s top of the range. Where did you get it?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She lied, “Some airlock sale?” 

“Must’ve been a great big heist.” As an ex-conman Jack could respect the skill it would have taken to steal one of these, “It’s stacked with power.”

“But we can use it for fuel?” The Doctor got him back on track

Shaking his head, Jack saw an evening of tinkering ahead of him, “It’s not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours.” It was better than nothing, “We’ll be ready to go by morning.”

“Then we’re stuck here overnight.” The Doctor summarised

Margaret grumbled behind him, “I’m in no hurry.”

“We’ve got a prisoner.” Rose found the humour in the situation, “The police box is really a police box.” 

Margaret seemed to have the knack for dragging the mood down around her with very little effort, “You’re not just police, though. Since you’re taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners.” She looked at each of them in turn, “Each and every one of you.”

“Well, you deserve it.” Mickey told her 

“You’re very quick to say so.” She snapped back, “You’re very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly?” She asked, satisfied when he had no answer for her, “Long night ahead. Let’s see who can look me in the eye.” Mickey was the first to break her gaze but none of them lasted longer than a few seconds, “Hmm”

-

Ianto really should know better than to go wandering off inside the Tardis, he’d just been looking for a jacket but he must have taken a wrong turn because it took twice as long to get back to the main console than it took to find his room in the first place. He could only have been gone fifteen minutes but when he got back everyone was gone.

Well, almost everyone, “Jack?” The man was on his back on the floor messing with some of the Tardis controls looking unfairly attractive, “Where’s Margaret and everyone else?”

“Double dates it seems, it’s just you and me left to man the fort.” He sat up, waggling his eyebrows, “What a shame, eh?”

“Don’t you have to…” he gestured at the extrapolator that was wired up to the console, “do your tech thing?”

“It’s really not that complicated, I’m practically finished already.” Jack told him, stretching his arms over his head, subtly flexing as he did, “I can take a break, we could play a game”

“A game?” that sounded either interesting or terrifying, maybe both, “What sort of game?”

“Hmm,” tapping his chin Jack pretended to think about it, “How about Naked Hide and Seek?” He laughed when Ianto blushed bright red at the suggestion, “Kidding, I’d never chuck you in at the deep end like that. It’s a shame the Doc doesn’t keep any alcohol on board, we could have played twenty questions.”

“You don’t need alcohol for that.” Ianto pointed out

Getting to his feet, Jack finished what he was doing to the extrapolator with a quick few clicks and closed some of the distance between them, sure to stop before invading Ianto’s personal space, “You do for my version” he didn’t want to scare him off, he needed to be careful, “How about a dance? I could teach you how to waltz.” When Ianto didn’t say anything, Jack smirked, “Go on, I dare you”

“You dare me?” Ianto asked incredulously, “What are we, five?”

Jack was not dissuaded though, “I double dare you!”

Suddenly struck with an amazing idea, Ianto knew he had to follow through with it, “I have a better idea,” he grinned, already feeling proud of himself, “how about I teach you a dance?”

“Sure!” Jack was more than happy to study under Ianto’s artful hands, “What were you thinking?”

“I, Jack,” Ianto barely held back his laughter, “shall be teaching you a traditional Earth dance. Get ready to learn how to cha cha slide.”

-

As it turned out, Margaret’s skill of killing the mood was not restricted to casual conversation but also stretched into dining out as well, after spending the first half of their meal trying to kill the Doctor she switched tactics, “Public execution’s a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid, lower me into the cauldron and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid, and I become soup.” She told him, “And still alive, still screaming.”

“I don’t make the law.” The Doctor told her harshly

“But you deliver it.” She snapped, “Will you stay to watch?”

Feeling defeated, the Doctor asked her, “What else can I do?”

“The Slitheen family’s huge. There’s a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them.” She pleaded with him, “Take me somewhere safe.”

Shaking his head, The Doctor knew he couldn’t, “But then you’ll just start again.”

“I promise I won’t.” Margaret swore

“You’ve been in that skin suit too long. You’ve forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin.” It was a good thing no one was listening in on their conversation really, “You’re pleading for mercy out of a dead woman’s lips.”

“Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life, an ordinary life. That’s all I’m asking.” She was begging now, “Give me a chance, Doctor. I can change.”

But he wasn’t having it, “I don’t believe you”

Meanwhile not so far away down the street, Mickey and Rose were sat in silence that was fast becoming oppressive until Mickey bit the bullet and initiated conversation, “So, what do you want to do now?”

“Don’t mind.” Rose said without enthusiasm

Heavily hinting, Mickey suggested, “You could ask about hotels.”

Still smarting over the fact that Mickey had apparently moved on and was seeing another girl, Rose rolled her eyes, “What would Trisha Delaney say?”

“Suppose.” Mickey scuffed his shoes before coming up with another idea, “There’s a bar down there with a Spanish name or something-”

“You don’t even like Trisha Delaney!” Rose exploded

“Oh, is that right?” Mickey demanded, “What the hell do you know?”

“I know you, And I know her.” Rose shook her head, “And I know that’s never going to happen. So who do you think you’re kidding?”

Finally reaching his breaking point, Mickey snapped, “At least I know where she is!”

“There we are, then.” Rose told him, “It’s got nothing to do with Trisha. This is all about me, isn’t it?”

“You left me! We were nice, we were happy. And then what?” He asked, “You give me a kiss and you run off with him, and you make me feel like nothing, Rose. I was nothing. I can’t even go out with a stupid girl from a shop because you pick up the phone and I comes running. I mean, is that what I am, Rose, standby?” He shook his head, slouching down on a bench, “Am I just supposed to sit here for the rest of my life, waiting for you?” He asked, feeling as pathetic as he looked, “Because I will.”

Finally seeing the pain Mickey was in, Rose sighed and rested a hand on his back, “I’m sorry.” She never wanted this but she had no idea how to fix it either, the damage was already done.


	28. She’s an Egg

Still trying to bargain for her life, Margaret was growing desperate, “I promise you I’ve changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today. A young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then I stopped.” She said, sure this route would glean more success, “She’s alive somewhere right now. She’s walking around this city because I can change. I did change. I know I can’t prove it…” 

The Doctor stopped her, “I believe you.”

“Then you know I’m capable of better.” Margaret thought she had finally broken through his cold shell but she was wrong

“It doesn’t mean anything.” The Doctor crushed her hope as quickly as he had inspired it in the first place, “You let one of them go, but that’s nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim’s spared because she smiled, because he’s got freckles, because they begged.” He told her, “And that’s how you live with yourself. That’s how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind’s in the right direction, you happen to be kind.”

“Only a killer would know that.” Margaret glared at him over the tabletop, “Is that right? From what I’ve seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples lives, you might as well be a god. And you’re right, Doctor. You’re absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go.” She leaned in close, begging him, “Let me go.” 

A deep rumble sounded overhead, different to thunder in a bad way, catching the Doctors attention as Margarets pleas fell on deaf ears.

“In the family Slitheen, we had no choice. I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I’d refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs.” She was running out of time, “If I’m a killer, it’s because I was born to kill. It’s all I know. Doctor, are you even listening to me?”

“Can you hear that?” He asked, not having heard a word she was saying

Margaret looked at him as if he were insane, “I’m begging for my life.”

“No,” he held up a finger as glasses began to vibrate, “listen,” the windows were next, “shush.” Then came the screams as everything shattered around them, what now? 

Outside along the bay people were running and screaming as street lights exploded and rained down shattered glass from above. Rose was among them, running away from Mickey and towards the Tardis without a second thought as everything went to shit around them, “Oh, go on then, run!” Mickey shouted after her, feeling used, “It’s him again, isn’t it? It’s the Doctor! It’s always the Doctor! It’s always going to be the Doctor. It’s never me!”

Inside the Tardis, Jack and Ianto’s laughter was cut short as the extrapolator started sparking. Not sure what to do, Ianto switched the music off and watched over Jack’s shoulder as he tried to fix whatever had gone wrong, neither of them expecting Rose to burst through the doors with wide scared eyes, “The Tardis, something’s wrong, everything outside has gone crazy!”

“How crazy?” Ianto asked, already heading for the door to take a look, “What’s going on?” Walking out of the doors he looked up to see a huge beam of energy streaming from the top of the Tardis into the sky, he was about to duck back inside to safety when he caught sight of an old woman falling over in his peripheral vision.

He should have just gone back inside but he couldn’t in good conscience leave her on the ground, especially when it became clear she couldn’t get back to her feet, “Ah fuck,” he hissed, dithering on the spot for a second longer before breaking out into a run to help her, “You’re alright, come on” he helped her back up to her feet and ducked when a street light above them exploded, “It’s not safe here, go inside”

“Oh, thank you young man.” The woman was frail and clung to his arm desperately as he helped her up the steps, “Thank you”

“Stay inside until this all blows over” he told her, watching to make sure she got inside safely before running back towards the Tardis, leaping over huge cracks as they tore the plaza apart from underneath his feet. 

Now he wasn’t going to lie, as he was running and jumping across the crumbling cement, Ianto _did_ feel quite cool, it must have looked epic from a bystanders point of view anyway.

Inside the Tardis the doctor was shouting at Jack, “What the hell are you doing? It’s the rift. Time and space are ripping apart, the whole city’s going to disappear!”

“It’s the extrapolator.” Jack let out a relieved breath when Ianto came rushing through the doors in one piece, “I’ve disconnected it but it’s still feeding off the engine! It’s using the Tardis, I can’t stop it!”

“Never mind Cardiff,” The Doctor told him, “it’s going to rip open the planet.”

Pushing away from the doors, Ianto took a step forward, “What is it?” He asked, “What’s happening?” 

“Oh,” Margaret smiled, “just little me.” Shedding the arm off her skin suit, she pushed her real arm out and grabbed Ianto between her claws, “One wrong move and he snaps like a promise.” She snarled

The Doctor pushed Rose behind him as she went to lunge for her friend, “I might’ve known.”

“I’ve had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it.” She turned her attention towards Jack, “You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet.” When Jack didn’t move Margaret tightened her grip on Ianto’s neck, causing him to choke as he struggled to free himself

“Let him go first,” Jack demanded but all that served to do was aggravate her which in turn led to Ianto being lifted further off the ground, “Fine, here take it, just let him go” Jack told her as he placed the extrapolator by her feet

“Thank you.” Margaret lowered Ianto slightly but kept a hold of him, “Just as I planned.”

“I thought,” Ianto struggled to breath, “you needed to blow up the nuclear power station.”

“Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own.” Margaret let one of her claws stoke the side of his face, “Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I’m back on schedule, thanks to you.”

“The rift’s going to convulse.” Jack warned her, “You’ll destroy the whole planet!”

“And you with it!” Margaret didn’t seem to have an issue with this as she stood on the extrapolator eagerly, “While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys.” She raised an eyebrow, “Surf’s up.”

The Tardis seemed to have other ideas though as one of her consoles cracked open, a bright light flooding over Margaret and Ianto, “Of course,” the Doctor told her, “opening the rift means you’ll pull this ship apart. It’s not just any old power source. It’s the Tardis.” He said with pride, “My Tardis. The best ship in the universe.”

“It’ll make wonderful scrap.” Margaret snapped

Wincing away from the bright glow, Ianto asked, “What’s that light?”

“The heart of the Tardis.” The Doctor told them, “This ship’s alive and you’ve opened its soul.”

Unlike Ianto, Margaret was staring deep into the light, hypnotised by the glare, “It’s so bright.”

“Look at it, Margaret.” The Doctor instructed her, “Look inside”

“Beautiful.” She sighed

“Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch.” The Doctor told her, using her real name, as she began to relax, “Look at the light.” Her grip relaxed, Ianto managing to slip through her claws and stumble over to Jack, clutching his throat with one hand as the other clung to his shoulder for support.

Smiling at The Doctor, Margaret blinked slowly, “Thank you.” In a flash she disappeared into the light, her empty skin suit crumpling to the floor with Margaret nowhere to be seen.

“Don’t look.” The Doctor instructed as he closed the console, “All of you, stay there. Close your eyes.” The light gone, it was safe to move around and they had work to do if they wanted to save Cardiff and the rest of the world from the rift, “Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Rose, Ianto that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right.” Energy stopped pouring into the sky as everyone hopped to it, the Tardis drinking up the excess power, saving the planet in the process, “Nicely done.” The Doctor praised them, “Thank you.”

Once he was sure they were out of immediate danger, Ianto cleared his throat and spoke in a raspy tone, “What happened to Margaret?” He concealed a wince, not wanting to worry anyone with the pain he felt. 

“Must’ve got burnt up.” Jack told him, sticking by his side in case he needed anything, “Carried out her own death sentence.”

“No,” The Doctor disagreed, “I don’t think she’s dead. She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don’t know how strong that is. And the ship’s telepathic, like I told you, Rose.” He tapped his temple, “Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts.” Crouching down to investigate the skin suit, the Doctor pulled out a large egg from it’s folds, “Here she is.”

Tilting his head to one side, Ianto asked, “She’s an egg?” 

“Regressed to her childhood.” The Doctor nodded

“She’s an egg?” Jack repeated Ianto’s question

“She can start again.” The Doctor explained, “Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right”

“Or she might be worse.” Jack played devils advocate

Looking up at his ragtag group of companions, The Doctor shrugged one shoulder, “That’s her choice.”

Crouching next to him, Rose took a closer look, “She’s an egg.”

Grinning at her, The Doctor agreed, “She’s an egg.”

The moment didn’t last long though as Rose bolted to her feet and ran for the Tardis doors, “Oh, my God. Mickey!”

She ran out and across the cracked plaza, back to where she had last seen him and saw a couple of ambulances were taking away the injured. Unbeknownst to her, Mickey was watching from the shadows as she went up to a paramedic in search of him. It was too little too late though, he knew that now as he turned to walk away, leaving Rose behind to return to the Tardis alone.

The Doctor was waiting for her when she came back, “We’re all powered up.” He told her, “We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go,” she didn’t seem thrilled by the idea, “if that’s all right?”

“Yeah, fine.” Rose agreed half heartedly, looking a little lost as she rounded the console

Not really wanting to know but thinking he should ask, The Doctor stopped tinkering with the controls and asked her, “How’s Mickey?”

“He’s okay.” Rose told him, “He’s gone.”

“Do you want to go and find him?” The Doctor glanced at Jack, “We’ll wait.”

It would be so easy to go run after him, he couldn’t be that hard to find but Rose knew she shouldn’t, it wasn’t fair, “No need, he deserves better”

“Off we go, then.” The Doctor started up his tinkering again, “Always moving on”

“Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius.” Jack chuffed, “Now you don’t often get to say that.”

“We’ll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again.” The Doctor gestured towards the Margaret’s egg, “A second chance.”

Scrounging up a smile, Rose tried to recapture some of her earlier enthusiasm, “That’d be nice.” She held on tightly as the Tardis took off and told herself she’d done the right thing even if it felt like she was leaving a part of herself behind. 

Mickey deserved better.


	29. I double dare you

Opting to stay aboard the Tardis while the Doctor and Rose took Margarets egg to a hatchery on Raxacoricofallapatorious, Ianto found himself with Jack for company once more, the other man keen to spend time with him for reasons Ianto still didn’t quite understand. There was an entire planet outside the Tardis doors and for some reason Jack would rather waste his time playing nursemaid than go explore it, “I told you already, I’m fine, stop fussing” Ianto croaked, his voice betraying him, “You should go explore if you want to.”

“Nah, I’ve seen plenty of planets, now hold still a minute” Jack batted his hands away from his throat and scanned him quickly with his vortex manipulator, “Hmm, no lasting damage,” he told him, closing his VM with a tilt of his head and a coy smile, “but I prescribe a cup of tea and no shouting -no matter how much you think I’m smothering you.”

“Tea?” Ianto crinkled his nose as he let Jack lead him towards the Tardis’ kitchen reluctantly, “How about I make us both a coffee instead? It’s about the only thing I can actually make in the kitchen without causing a fire or giving someone food poisoning.”

Perching on the countertop, Jack swung his legs back and forth slightly, “Go on then, you’ve twisted my arm” watching quietly as Ianto navigated his way around the kitchen, Jack found his eyes kept drifting back to the blossoming bruise on Ianto’s neck, a sudden urge to fill the silence overwhelming him, “You were very brave when she had you, a lesser man might have panicked and got himself decapitated” had he really just said that? Way to go Jack, great job, top marks for comfort, “I, uh…”

“Thanks I guess?” luckily Ianto just rolled with it and didn’t comment on his lack of social skills, “Though I was pretty scared,” he admitted, “it’s not everyday you get choked by a great big alien arm.”

“Don’t kinkshame” Jack joked, laughing when Ianto blushed and ducked his head to stir their coffee’s, “Sorry, too far? Not into choking?” He shrugged, “It’s not everyones cup of tea I suppose.”

“Some fetishes should be kept to yourself” Ianto told him firmly once he regained his composure, handing him a cup of perfectly brewed coffee, “Drink up”

Blowing his coffee to try and cool it, Jack jumped down from the counter and started rooting around the cupboard for some biscuits, “So, what about you?” He asked, his voice slightly muffled by the cupboard but Ianto heard him all the same, “What are you into?”

“Jack!” Ianto shook his head, beyond embarrassed when the other man retrieved his biscuits from where he had hidden them, “We are not talking about this.”

“Yeah, you’re right” Jack offered him the pack after stuffing two in his mouth at once, spraying crumbs as he spoke, “It’s more of a third date topic of conversation, we’ll get there eventually.”

“You sound so sure of yourself,” Ianto rolled his eyes, “have you forgotten that we haven’t even gone on a first date yet?”

“_Yet_” Jack crowed, “You just said we haven’t gone on our first date _yet_” he knew Ianto was into him, now all he had to do was ask him out, “How about it? You, me and the stars?” He gestured to his wrist strap, “I could show you things beyond your wildest dreams, whole planets made of diamonds, galaxies that spread as far as the eye can see.” He reached out and slipped one of his hands into Ianto’s, squeezing gently as he spoke, “All you have to do is say yes, just the two of us exploring the universe, together.”

“Jack,” Ianto swallowed past the lump in his throat, “I-” 

“Oh, sorry!” Rose squeaked as she stumbled into the room, eyes locking onto their linked hands, “Am I interrupting something?” 

“Yes” 

“No” Ianto answered at the same time Jack did, quickly pulling his hand away, “Did you need something Rose?” 

Mouthing a quick apology to Jack, Rose started backing out of the room, “The Doctor wanted me to tell you that we’re finished on Raxacoricofallapatorious and that we’re heading somewhere else now. I’ll just…” she didn’t finish her sentence as she instead darted out of the room, leaving the two of them alone once more. 

“Right,” Jack let out a sharp exhale, “now where were we?” 

“Yes” Ianto blurted before he could talk himself out of it, “I’ll go with you” what were the chances that he would have found the Tardis at Torchwood one? That he would have survived the battle and then a second Dalek attack at Van Statten’s? He was alive, here today, when the odds say he most definitely shouldn’t be. Why not take a chance on Jack? 

“You will?” Jack’s grin grew wide, he almost couldn’t believe his ears, “You’ll come with me?” As much as he had enjoyed his time aboard the Tardis, he felt like the two of them could have some real adventures together given half the chance 

Nodding eagerly, Ianto felt a wave of excitement wash over him, “I will” this was it, his life was about to truly begin 

“You’re amazing,” Jack breathed, a huge smile on his face as he swept Ianto up in his arms and span him round, laughing as he put him back down again. Their faces inches apart as Ianto’s wide eyes looked up at him, tempting him to dip down and close that final distance between them, “I could kiss you” 

Feeling giddy with anticipation, Ianto tried not to smile too wide as he whispered back, “Go on,” he smirked, “I double dare you” 

That’s all Jack needed to hear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was longer but I’m in a devious mood and I split it in half since I fancy leaving you on a cliff hanger for a while. *evil laughing*


	30. Countdown

With a huge gasp of air, Ianto opened his eyes and was met with a face he didn’t recognise looming over him, from there he could only blame his instincts as his fist shot forward to slam into the mans face, knocking him back as he cried out in pain, “What the hell man?” He complained, cupping his bleeding nose as Ianto sat up, eyes darting around to try and figure out where he was.

The last thing he could remember was… oh god Jack was about to kiss him. Had it all been a dream? Where was he? Nothing made sense, “Who are you? Where am I?” He demanded as the man tried to come closer

“Easy,” the man held his hands up to show he was no threat, “that’ll be the trasmat, it messes with your head a little but we don’t have time, come on” he gestured towards a platform with a desk and two chairs sat atop it, “We need to get up there”

“Up where?” Ianto got to his feet nonetheless, his new vantage point giving him a better view of the room, though it only proved to confuse him more. He was in a studio of some kind? But that’s impossible, it looked like-

“Countdown contestants in your seats please, the game is about to begin” What. The. Fuck?

-

The Doctor had found himself in a similar predicament, “What is it?” He was in some sort of cupboard, “What’s happening?” He demanded, falling out of the spinning room with a thud onto some scratchy carpet

“Oh, my God!” A woman came rushing to his side, “I don’t believe it! Why’d they put you in there? They never said you were coming.”

“What happened?” The Doctor asked, “I was-”

The woman caught him as he swooned, “Careful now. Oh! Oh, mind yourself! Oh, that’s the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days.” She propped him up, “All right? So, what’s your name then, sweetheart?”

Unsteady on his feet, The Doctor frowned as he tried to remember, “The Doctor, I think. I was, er... I don’t know, what happened? How-”

“You got chosen.” The woman told him with a smile

None of this was making any sense, “Chosen for what?”

“You’re a housemate. You’re in the house.” She beamed, “Isn’t that brilliant?!”

Over by a pink screen with a stylised eye on it, a young man in a t-shirt was not amused, “That’s not fair. We’ve got eviction in five minutes!” He complained, “I’ve been here for all nine weeks, I’ve followed the rules, I haven’t had a single warning, and then he comes swanning in-”

His friend cut him off, joining in as well, “If they keep changing the rules, I’m going to protest, I am.” She threatened, “You watch me, I’m going to paint the walls.”

“Would the Doctor please come to the Diary Room?” A disembodied voice asked and the Doctor found himself being pushed in the right direction, plopping himself down on a big red chair when prompted, “You are live on channel forty four thousand. Please do not swear.”

Looking into the camera in front of him, The Doctor raised his eyebrows, “You have got to be kidding”

-

Rose woke up on the floor too, head spinning and feeling like she was going to be sick when a dark-skinned man bent over her and offered her a hand up, “It’s all right. It’s the transmat. Does your head in. Get a bit of amnesia, what’s your name?”

“Rose.” She told him, looking around, “But where’s the Doctor?”

“Just remember do what the android says.” He told her, “Don’t provoke it. The android’s word is law.” 

“What do you mean, android?” She asked, “Like a robot?” She blinked rapidly as she was led over to a semi circle of podiums, still unsure as to where she was and why, “I was travelling, with the Doctor and Ianto and… and a man called Captain Jack. The Doctor wouldn’t just leave me.”

“That’s enough chat.” A woman with a badge declaring her the floor manager shouted out, “Positions! Final call! Good luck!”

“But I’m not supposed to be here.” Rose tried to get away but the man that had helped her up was pushing her towards a podium instead

“It says Rose on the podium.” He urged her forward, “Come on.” 

“Hold on,” Rose said as she took her place, “I must be going mad. It can’t be. This looks like the-” 

“Android activated!” The floor manager called out

“Oh my god, the android.” Rose felt her jaw drop at what she was seeing, “The _Anne_ droid.”

“Welcome,” The Android spoke, “to The Weakest Link!”

-

Voices slowly started to filter in as Jack woke up from a deep sleep, “Here we go again. We’ve got our work cut out for us.” One of them was saying

“I don’t know.” A second voice joined the mix, “He’s sort of handsome. Has a good lantern jaw.” 

“Lantern jaws are so last year.” The first one argued

Opening his eyes Jack was greeted to the sight of two lovely female presenting androids standing in front of him while he himself was lying on a table of some kind, “Sorry, nice to meet you, ladies, but where exactly am I?” He asked, spotting a rack of clothes to his left as he shook his head as if to try and clear it

“We’re giving you a brand new image.” The first one told him, taller than her friend but with less curves

“Oh, hold on, I was with the Doctor-” he cut himself off, looking down at his attire, “Why, is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?”

The shorter of the two critiqued him, “It’s all very twentieth century. Where did you get that denim?”

“A little place in Cardiff.” That had sure been fun before Margret had put a dampener on their trip, he’d bought quite a few items he liked actually, “It was called… the Top Shop.”

“Ah! Design classic.” She praised

“But we’re going to have to find you some new colours.” Her friend gestured at him as Jack got to his feet, “Maybe get rid of that Oklahoma Farm Boy thing you’ve got going on.”

The shorter android warned him, “Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic.”

Unfamiliar with the machine, Jack eyed it up and asked, “What’s a defabricator?” A beam was promptly shot at him that disintegrated all his clothes, “Okay.” He looked down at his naked, thankfully unsinged, body as if this were a common occurrence and nothing to be worried about, “Defabricator, does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?” He smirked when they both confirmed it, “Ladies, your viewing figures just went up”

-

“I still don’t understand what’s happening” Ianto hissed to his fellow panellist, James he’d introduced himself as, “I was on this ship with a few of my friends, I was with Jack and then…there was this light” it was coming back to him now, Jack was about to kiss him and a bright white light started coming through the walls, pulling them apart, “Then I woke up here”

“Yeah, that’s the trasmat, that’s how they pick the contestants.” James whispered back, “Look I don’t have a lot of time to explain, do you know how the game works or not?”

“Countdown?” Ianto asked, looking behind him to see the familiar giant clock, “Of course I do.” It had been one of his nans favourites, “But why am I here?”

“Right, that’s time, we go live in sixty.” A man with an earpiece and a clipboard walked out in front of everyone, “I want a nice clean game everyone, best of luck to you all. Live in fifty, forty nine…”

Ianto looked around and blinked a few times, just to be sure this wasn’t a dream before shrugging his shoulders. Okay, game on then, what’s the worst that could happen, “James, how do I turn this on?” He asked, gesturing to the computer screen in front of him, smiling politely at his teammate when he leaned over to do it for him, “Thanks, let’s try and win this thing, yeah?”

“Yeah,” James nodded nervously, “Yeah, let’s” 

“Live in ten, nine, eight, good luck everybody, six, five,” the clipboard man switched to counting down on his fingers and Ianto shook himself, time to play some countdown he guessed. Rose and Jack were never going to believe this.


	31. The Game Station

As more of his memories came back to him, Jack realised he needed to get back to Ianto and the rest of the group. It was a little rude someone had interrupted their first kiss but Ianto’s lips would be waiting for him later, for now he was taking the time to enjoy a free makeover, “Er, not sure about the vest.” He told his two new lady friends as he posed, “What about a little bit of colour to lift it?”

“Absolutely not.” The taller of the two scolded him, “Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring.” She turned to the rack of clothing, “Now, let’s talk jackets.”

Leaning in, Jack took another quick look, “I kind of like the first one.”

“No, that’s a bit too much Hell’s Angel.” The curvier Android handed him a different one and helped him slip his arms through, “I think I like the shorter one. Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum.”

Pleasantly surprised when she gave his backside a quick pat, Jack turned around with a grin, “Works for me.” He wondered if Ianto would like it

“Once we’ve got an outfit, we can look at the face.” The taller android asked, “Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?”

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t, “I’ve considered it, yeah. A little lift around the eyes.” He patted under his chin, “tighten up the jaw line, what do you think?”

“Oh, let’s have a bit more ambition.” She said behind his back, removing her lower arm and replacing it with a mechanical chainsaw, “Let’s do something cutting edge.” 

-

After a shocking first round of the weakest link, it was time to vote off the first contestant and Rose for the life of her couldn’t figure out why everyone looked so petrified. She didn’t have long to ponder the fact though as the Anne-Driod started questioning her, “So, Rose, what do you actually do?”

“I just travel about a bit.” She laughed nervously, “Bit of a tourist, I suppose.”

Anne didn’t seem impressed, “Another way of saying unemployed.”

Wow, they sure got the brutality right when programming this one, “No.”

“Have you got a job?” Anne persisted

“Well,” Rose floundered, “not really, no, but-”

Triumphant, the Anne-Droid crowd, “Then you are unemployed. And yet, you’ve still got enough money to buy peroxide. Why Fitch?”

Deciding to unpack that later, Rose shrugged, “Er, I think she got a few of the questions wrong, that’s all.” Why did anyone vote anyone off? It was just a game

“Oh, you’d know all about that.” She wasn’t letting up, was she?

“Well, yeah,” Rose blustered, “but I can’t vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch. I’m sorry, that’s the game.” She apologised as Fitch started to cry, “That’s how it works, I had to vote for someone.” It was nothing personal.

“Let me try again.” Fitch cried. “It was the lights and everything- I couldn’t think-”

The Anne-Droid interrupted her, “In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round, but it’s votes that count.”

“I’m sorry, please!” Rose watched with wide eyes as Fitch sobbed, “Oh God, help me!”

“Fitch you are the weakest link.” The Anne-Droid announced, “Goodbye!”

Nothing could have prepared Rose for what came next, a barrel jutting out of the droids open mouth to fire a beam at Fitch, disintegrating her on the spot and no one seemed to care. It was barbaric, it was inhuman, “What’s that?” Rose finally found her voice, breathless from the horror of it all, “What’s just happened?”

Her fellow contestant, Rodrick, just shrugged and wiped his slate clean like he hadn’t just played a part in televised murder, “She was the weakest link, she gets disintegrated.” He added in simpler words, “Blasted into atoms.”

“But I _voted_ for her.” Rose looked at the file of ash on the floor that had been a person not twenty seconds before, “This is _sick_. All of you, _you’re just sick!_” She went to stand off her podium, “I’m not playing this-”

But Broff beat her to it, “I’m not playing! I can’t do it.” He cried, “I’m not. Please, somebody let me out of here!”

The Anne-Druid watched as he bolted from the set, cold metal eyes tracking his movements like an owl would a mouse, “You are the weakest link” she declared, firing a second beam after him, “Goodbye”

Two dead in as many minutes, Rose felt as if she were going to be sick, “Don’t try to escape.” Rodrick told her, “It’s play or die.”

-

Ianto was ready to play, mind focused as he tried to get his head in the game, what he wasn’t expecting was for the back of his head to start burning up the second he tried to use the small computer screen in front of him, “Ah!” He hissed, pulling his hand away as letters and numbers started streaming across the screen, “What was that?”

“Oh my god,” James mumbled, glancing over at Ianto’s screen before looking up to check no one knew what was going on, “Oh my god, how did you do that? You’ve got the answers, did you hack into the game? Oh my god-”

“Hang on,” Ianto looked up from the screen and gently pressed the back of his head to sooth away the pain. The chip that had been implanted back on satellite five, why was it bothering him now? The technology must be compatible, “Where did you say we were James?”

“The satellite, it’s a broadcasting station, that’s all, why does it matter?” He laughed with relief, “You’ve won us the game-”

No way, “I’m on a satellite?” He checked, “Is this satellite five?” What were the chances of that?

“No ones called it that in years but yeah, oh man we’re gonna live!” James ducked his head as to not give the game away, “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up, with any luck we’ll get out of here in one piece.”

“What do you mean one piece?” Ianto frowned, sadly James never got a chance to reply as the game commenced, the countdown timer starting behind them to signal their time had begun.

-

In the big brother house, The Doctor was slowly losing his mind as one of the housemates was getting evicted, the drama of it all was doing his head in, “It’s only a game show.” He rolled his eyes as the three idiots said their tearful farewells, “She’ll make a fortune on the outside. Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that.” He shook his head, “She’ll be laughing.”

“What do you mean, on the outside?” The woman who had helped him out of the cupboard, Lynda, asked him as the three of them sat around the TV to watch what would happen next

Keeping an audience in suspense was one thing but this was taking the mick, “What are they waiting for?” The Doctor demanded impatiently, “Why don’t they just let her go?”

“Stop it,” Lynda slapped his arm, “it’s not funny.”

The overhead voice was back, counting down, “Eviction in five, four, three, two, one.” 

The Doctor watched as a beam came down from the ceiling and hit the young woman who had just been evicted. After a few moments the light cut out and she vanished in a puff of smoke, “What was that?”

“Disintegrator beam.” Lynda told him tearfully, “She’s been evicted… from life”

-

On floor five hundred to employees stood side by side frowning at identical screens across from eachother, “Are you seeing this?” Davitch asked his coworker, looking up at her with wide eyes as she just shrugged in response, “No one programmed the transmat, no one selected the new contestants. It is exactly like those stories-”

“Oh, don’t start that again.” Ferda cut him off, shaking her head, “I think you need to take a session off.”

Davitch, smiling shyly, attempted to act suave, “Well, I would, if you’d take it with me.” 

Sadly, Ferda didn’t think him very smooth, “And don’t start that again either.” She scolded, pushing away from her desk as she started to walk away, Davitch on her heels as always, the loyal lapdog she’d never asked for.

“But the rumours go back decades, saying that something’s been hidden up here.” He insisted, head in the clouds as always, “Underneath the transmissions.”

They’d had this argument more times than she could honestly be bothered to count and it always ended the same way, “But the Controller would know, she watches everything.”

“Maybe she just can’t see it.” Davitch refused to let it go, “You’ve got to allow for human error.”

“Well, that’s your problem, then.” She leaned in close to whisper into his ear as they looked up at the controller, “I don’t think she’s been human for years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the last chapter I’ll be posting this side of Christmas, things are about to get mad with the extended family popping up left right and centre, so I probably won’t get chance to post anymore till the new year. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a happy festive season.


	32. Compact Laser Delux

Cheating, on principal, felt wrong to Ianto. He wasn’t sure he and James were doing the right thing, scamming their way through a game of countdown, it made him feel dirty in a way he wasn’t familiar with nor was he fond of.

That was… until Jessica ran out of time on her conundrum, “Jessica, we need an answer from you” the presenter tapped his watch, waiting a few more seconds as the poor woman they were playing against started visibly shaking in her seat with fearful eyes, “That’s a pity” he shook his head, “I’m afraid it’s game over for you”

Now this was where the game took a turn Ianto hadn’t been expecting, the presenter hit a small button on his desk which set the clock off again with it’s musical accompaniment. Only once the thirty seconds were up, Jessica didn’t simply leave the studio but instead her chair lit up in a bright explosion. Her tearful begging silenced in a heartbeat and nobody seemed to care.

“James, what-” Ianto knew his eyes must be wide as saucers as he stared horrified at the pile of dust that used to be a person, “Fuck- what the _fuck?_”

“That’s the game, just keep your head down and shut up” James hissed at him, “Theres only one way we get out of here and that’s by winning, keep your head in the game Ianto.”

Oh no, not happening, “No,” Ianto refused, “this is murder, he just killed-”

Sharp nails dug into his arm to stop him from getting up and James’ eyes flashed scarlet showing he wasn’t all that human like Ianto had assumed, “Lissssten here you piece of sssshit,” blood red eyes bored into his very soul as a forked tongue darted out of his partners mouth, “Either the game killssss you or I do, undersssstand?”

“And we’re back in five, four, three…” it didn’t really sound like he had a choice

-

It was all too easy to break out of the big brother house, a simple little act of vandalism and the Doctor found himself a free man with a new possible companion to boot, Lynda with a Y was a hoot, “Hang on,” he recognised where he was, “I’ve been here before.”

Lynda smiled at him look he hung the moon and the stars in the night sky, which to be fair wasn’t too far off the mark actually, “You have?”

“This is Satellite Five. No guards. That makes a change. You’d think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth.” He opened another door and guided Lynda through

Lynda chuckled at him as she looked around with wide eyes, “No one’s called it Satellite Five in ages. It’s the Game Station now.” They must be the first contestants to ever get outside the games, “Hasn’t been Satellite Five in about a hundred years.”

“A hundred years exactly.” The Doctor agreed, “It’s the year two zero zero one zero zero. I was here before, Floor one three nine. The Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then.” He sniffed, showing off “Had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious, easy, gave them a hand, home in time for tea.” 

“A hundred years ago?” Lynda obviously didn’t believe him, “What, you were here a hundred years ago? You’re looking good on it.” She didn’t know why but she felt like could trust The Doctor. She didn’t even know his real name and yet instinctively she’d followed him like choosing to do so wasn’t the biggest, craziest decision she’d ever made. Something about him made her want to make even crazier decisions and she was loving every second of it.

“I moisturise.” The Doctor frowned at the floor as he double checked his sonic screwdriver, unable to shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right, “Funny sorts of readings. All kinds of energy. The place is humming. It’s weird, this goes way beyond normal transmissions, what would they need all that power for?”

So many questions, he never stopped, it was addictive, “I don’t know.”

“I had three friends travelling with me.” The Doctor changed his route of questioning to one she might actually be able to answe, “They must’ve got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?”

Lydia still didn’t know what to tell him though, “I don’t know. They could’ve been allocated anywhere, there’s a hundred different games.”

That didn’t sound too good, “Like what?” He needed to narrow the search field down

“Well,” Lynda glanced at the doors surrounding them, “there’s ten floors of Big Brother. There’s a different House behind each of those doors and then beyond that, there’s all sorts of shows. It’s non stop.” She told him, “There’s Call My Bluff, with real guns. Ground Force, which is a nasty one, you get turned into compost. Er… Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh, and Stars In Their Eyes, literally, stars in their eyes.” Leaning forward slightly, she whispered, “If you don’t sing, you get blinded.”

“And you watch this stuff?” The Doctor asked, unable to wrap his head around it

Lynda couldn’t even see how wrong it was, it was like she’d been brainwashed into living like cattle, “Everyone does. How come you don’t?” She asked him, equally as confused as he was at how different they were from one another

“Long story,” The Doctor brushed her off as his worry for his friends started making his hearts pound that little bit harder, the longer he spent stood around chatting the more danger Rose could be in, “But first of all, we’ve got to concentrate on the getting out.” He got them back on topic, “And to do that, you’ve got to know your enemy. Who’s controlling it? Who’s in charge of the satellite now?”

Spotting a light switch, Lynda smiled, “Hold on.” Running over to it, she pulled the leaver down and nodded up at the now lit up sign plastered across the wall in huge letters, “Your lords and masters.”

A huge printed, ‘Bad Wolf Corporation’ sign towered over The Doctor as he stared up at it with wide eyes, now he hadn’t been expecting that.

-

Blissfully ignorant to the dangers that awaited him, Jack was having a blast playing dress up, currently he was trying out some tennis whites while waving a racket around that he wasn’t exactly certain he knew the real purpose of. Maybe he should bring it back with him and show Ianto a couple innovative ways they could use it together, “No,” he stopped posturing in front of the mirror and pouted at his reflection, “I’m just not getting this, it’s just too safe” he shook his head, “Too _decent_” glancing over his shoulder he winked at one of the droids, “And you’d never keep it clean”

“Stage two,” the droid ignored his comment, “ready and waiting.”

Preparing himself for the defabricator beam, Jack grinned, “Bring it on, girls.” It had been too long since he participated in some good old fashioned public nudity, some time periods could be so damn prudish about some things.

Clothes disintegrated once more, the taller of the two droids took charge, “And now it’s time for the face off!”

“What does that mean?” Jack raised an eyebrow as he brought up playful fists, “Do I get to compete with someone else?”

“No.” She told him, pulling out her chainsaw arm, “Like I said, _face off_.”

Her friend was right behind her, a huge pair of scissors wielded threateningly in his directions, “I think you’d look good with a dog’s head.” Snicking them in his direction she sounded delighted by the prospect, “Or maybe no head at all, that would be so outrageous!”

The droid pointing a chainsaw at his upper body jumped back in, “And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest.”

“Nothing is too extreme.” The dumpy one buzzed, “It’s to die for.”

Okay, looks like his time playing dress up was over, time to find the others and get the hell out of here, “Now, hold on, ladies.” He gave them fair warning, “I don’t want to have to shoot either one of you.”

The dumpy droid sounded as amused as a droid can be programmed to be, “But you’re unarmed!”

“You’re naked!” Her friend agreed as Jack reached behind him and produced a gun they were not expecting to see, curtesy of a little trick John had shown him back at the Time Agency, it never hurt to be prepared. “But, that’s a Compact Laser Deluxe! Where were you hiding that?”

Cocking his head to one side, Jack took aim, “You really don’t want to know.”

“Give me that accessory!” He didn’t wait for them to charge at him with their sharp instruments of torture, shooting with pinpoint accuracy and successfully exploding their mechanical heads.

John might not have been the easiest partner to work with but he did have a knack for sneaky tricks that had come in handy more than once. He’d have to thank him if they ever crossed paths again, after beating the crap out of him that was, they had what you could call a complicated relationship after all. That was enough of that for now though, Jack shook himself out of his musings and turned back to the clothing racks. He needed to get dressed and go find the others, he sincerely doubted The Doc, Rose or Ianto had concealed weapons they could pull out if things got ugly wherever they were.


	33. A Gun Up My What?

Shaking her head, Ferda conceded defeat as she and Davitch watched two contestants wander freely outside the games, “Okay, you win. The Controller’s got to handle this,” she told him, “Archive makes a record of all transmat activities. I’ll find out how they got on board.”

While she stalked off to search through the data logs, Davitch approached the controller timidly, “Controller, we have a problem.”

Her unseeing eyes darted back and forth frantically as she gave him his orders, “Continue working.”

“We have a security problem,” he insisted

Her answer didn’t change, “Continue working.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Davitch informed her, “we have contestants outside of the games. The alarms haven’t gone off.”

“No security,” the controller brushed his concerns aside, not even addressing them as she plowed forward, “The games continue.”

Davitch was getting nowhere, “But we can’t just let them wander!”

“They are no one,” the controlled repeated herself, “they are no one.”

On the other side of the room Ferda was trying to access the archive unsuccessfully, every time she attempted to put her hand on the doors lock caused the controller to stiffen in pain as a result, “Sorry, I was just-”

“Archive Six is out of bounds,” the controller announced, her voice uneven and shaking, “archive Six is out of bounds. No one may enter Archive Six. Return to work. Return to work. Inform all staff, solar flares in delta point seven.”

-

The Anne-Droid, done with disintegrating her latest victim, turned to the only two contestants left, “That leaves Rose and Rodrick,” she told them, “you’re going head to head. Let’s play The Weakest Link.”

“Right, that’s the end of tactical voting,” Rodrick had only been keeping her in this long because she was thick, he played to win after all, “you’re on your own now.”

Many, many floors below at that exact moment the only thing keeping Ianto from throwing up as James slapped him on the back none too gently, was the fact he knew it would come out as an ice cube thanks to the nano-termites that lined his throat. They’d won the game, but at what cost? What he’d just been a part of made him feel sick to his core. In cheating their way through the game, James and Ianto had watched every single other contestant get turned into a pile of ash. Living, breathing people, murdered for entertainment.

“Here’s your half, don’t spend it all at once,” James handed over half the credits they’d won with a sly grin, his forked tongue slipping out as he winked, “it was a _plesssure_ having you as my teammate Ianto.”

Unable to find the words, Ianto just nodded helplessly and refocused his gaze on the floor, eyes unseeing as everything came crashing down around him. He didn’t know what to do and couldn’t even bring himself to care.

-

Finally dressed once more, Jack wasted no time in disassembling the defabricator to make it better suit his current needs, “Compatible systems, just align the wave signature.” He fiddled with the tech a few moments more before grinning widely at it, “Attaboy! Got myself a gun,” yanking the improvised weapon from its podium, Jack spared a few moments to say goodbye to the half destroyed droids that had been trying to kill him, “Well ladies, the pleasure was all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end.” 

Breaking out of the room was child’s play, though he assumed finding the others would more than make up for it in difficulty. The sign he spotted on the wall told him that he was on floor 299 which meant finding his friends was going to take a while… unless...

Sliding to a halt in the lift, Jack flipped open his Vortex Manipulator and programmed it to search for the last life form he’d scanned with it. Ianto Jones.

“Yes, that’s him,” Jack thanked his good luck that it had worked, Ianto’s signature pinging loud and clear somewhere close, “Which floor?”

-

On the observation deck watching Lynda stare out at planet earth, The Doctor was reminded of when he had done this exact same thing with Ianto and Rose not so long ago. Only, that time earth had looked like it was supposed to, now the entire planet was covered in a layer of thick smog which only further proved that his initial gut feeling had been right. Something was messing with history, “What’s happened to it?”

Lynda tilted her head to one side like a confused puppy before giving him the best answer she could, “Well, it’s always been like that Ever since I was born. See that there? That’s the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It’s been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it’s safe to breath outside.”

“So the population just sits there? Half the world’s too fat, and half the world’s too thin,” he didn’t mean to sound so accusing but it came out that way regardless, “and you lot just watch telly?”

“Ten thousand channels,” she agreed, “all beaming down from here.”

“The Human Race,” the Doctor stated dramatically, “brainless sheep being fed on a diet of- Mind you,” he cut himself off, changing his tune entirely as he got sidetracked, “have they still got that programme where three people have to live with a bear?”

Turning away from the smog covered Earth, Lynda beamed at him, “Oh, Bear With Me. I love that one!”

“And me,” the Doctor told her, “the celebrity edition where the bear-”

“Got in the bath!” Lynda finished for him, both of them laughing together for a short time before The Doctor snapped back into focus and continued his original point.

“But it’s all gone wrong. I mean, history’s gone wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I don’t understand. Last time I was here I put it right.”

“No, but that’s when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago,” Lynda told him, “like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight.”

“But that was me,” he still wasn’t getting it, “I did that.”

“There was nothing left in their place. No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it,” Lynda looked down at the planet below, the park in her eyes slightly duller than it was before, “One hundred years of hell.”

“Oh my god,” finally everything clicked into place and The Doctor finally understood the consequences of his actions, “I made this world.”

-

Jack found Ianto on floor 0. When he first stepped off the lift the crowds had taken him by surprise as the rest of the space station had been empty bar the contestants in the games. This floor however, was full of people hiring shuttles to take them home and half crazed winners looking to claim their prize money.

He’d found Ianto after a couple of minutes weaving through the crowd, even had a cheesy line ready on the tip of his tongue, but once he got a closer look at him he changed tact, “Ianto?” He crouched down in front of him and placed a gentle hand on his knee, smiling comfortingly when those familiar twin blue pools finally looked up at him, “Hey, handsome, good to see you.”

“Jack,” Ianto blinked a few times before he seemed to snap out of his daze, reaching out to grab his arm, “the games, they’re killing everyone.”

“I figured, still,” he helped Ianto to his feet and started weaving them both through the crowds back to the lift so they could find the others, “you managed to get out. I’m impressed, did you have a gun up your ass too?”

“A gun up my what? Actually,” he held his hand up as Jack pushed him inside the lift, “I don’t want to know.”

“Fair enough,” Jack shrugged as he tried to get his Vortex Manipulator to scan for a double heartbeat anywhere onboard, “so what game were you allocated to then?” He needed to keep Ianto talking, he couldn’t afford to have him slipping back into his shock. 

“Countdown,” reaching up, Ianto softly tapped the base of his skull, “the last time I was here I got a chip implanted in my head so I could snoop around on the computer system- it was that or a door that opened in the middle of my forehead.”

Jack was no longer certain Ianto was actually alright, that hadn't made much sense, “What?”

“Long story,” he waved him off, “but the chip must have given me access to the mainframe, the computer gave me all he right answers and I managed to get out alive. What about you?”

Jack never got chance to answer though as the lift doors opened to reveal The Doctor chatting away with a women who certainly wasn’t Rose, “Well, well, well,” Jack raised an eyebrow as the two of them looked up, “what do we have here then?”


	34. The Game waits for no Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... hi! Long time no see, I’d give you an excuse for why it’s been so long but in reality I just haven't felt inspired to write anymore till about an hour ago so enjoy this chapter because I have no idea when the next one will be out! :)

“Hey Doctor,” Ianto saved the man from any awkward explanations by pushing his way past Jack, “no Rose?”

The Doctor shook his head, “Can’t you track her down?”

Checking his wrist strap, Jack couldn’t find a trace of her, “She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded.”

“If I can just get inside this computer,” the Doctor fiddled with the console Ianto surprisingly recognised as the exact same one that he had been using last century, obviously they’d been built to last, “She’s got to be here somewhere.”

“Well, you’d better hurry up.” Jack warned him, “These games don’t have a happy ending.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” The Doctor snapped

Ianto cleared his throat and pointedly dug his elbow into Jack’s ribs, gesturing to his wrist strap, “Oh,” Jack slid it from his wrist and handed it over, “there you go, patch that in. It’s programmed to find her.”

The Doctor barely even looked up, “Thanks.”

Knowing he couldn’t be much use with the technology side of things, Ianto turned to The Doctors new friend and nodded in greeting, “Hello there, Ianto Jones”

The girl smiled shyly back, “Hello”

“Hey there,” Jack extended his hand for her to shake, “Captain Jack Harkness.” 

“Lynda Moss.” She introduced herself as Jack let go of her hand to go stand by Ianto, slipping an arm around his shoulders.

Actually welcoming the contact for once, Ianto let Jack ground him in the moment and smiled pleasantly at Lynda, “Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss.”

“Do you mind flirting outside?” The Doctor sniped

Jack’s jaw dropped in mock outrage, “We were just saying hello!”

“For you, that’s flirting,” The timelord grumbled as he struggled to get the computer to work, “it’s not compatible. This stupid system doesn’t make sense.” Tossing Jack’s Vortex Manipulator to Ianto, The Doctor kicked the console in front of him while Jack moved to take the front plate off, “This place should be a basic broadcaster, but the systems are twice as complicated.” He ranted, “It’s more than just television. This station’s transmitting something else.”

“Like what?” Ianto asked

“I don’t know. This whole Bad Wolf thing’s tied up with me. Someone’s manipulated my entire life. It’s some sort of trap and Rose is stuck inside it.”

-

Down to the last two contestants on the weakest link, The Anne-Driod received her next batch of questions to decide who was going home alive and who would get turned into a pile of ash, “Rose, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which ancient British city?”

She hadn’t a clue, “Is it York?”

“No, the correct answer is Sheffield.” The Anne-Driod turned to her second contestant, “Rodrick, in literature, the author of Lucky was Jackie who?”

“Stewart?” He guessed

“No, the correct answer is Collins.” She span back around, “Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?”

Ha! About time, Rose shocked herself by actually knowing the answer to this one, “Boe! The Face of Boe!”

“That…” the Anne-Driod paused for effect, “is the correct answer.”

Upstairs, The Doctor finally got a location on the computer, “Found her.” He exclaimed, “Floor four oh seven.”

Lynda grabbed his arm with horror, “Oh my God, she’s with the Anne Droid. You’ve got to get her out of there.”

The game, however, waited for no one and the questions kept coming, “Rodrick, in history, who was the President of the Red Velvets?”

“Hoshbin Frane.” He answered confidently

“That is the correct answer. Rose, in food, the dish Gaffabeque originated on which planet?” She asked

“Er,” Well fuck, “is… is it Mars?”

“No, the correct answer is Lucifer. Rodrick,” she asked her next question, “which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?”

Rodrick wracked his brain, “Would that be a goffle?”

“No,” the Anne-Driod answered, “the correct answer is a paab. Rose, in fashion, Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?”

Another stab in the dark, how was this game even fair? She didn’t even come from the right time period, “Shoes.” 

“No, the correct answer is hats. Rodrick, in physics, who discovered the Fifteen Dash Ten Barric Fields?”

Rodrick was sweating now, on the edge of a full blown panic attack, “San Hazeldine?”

“No,” She told him, “the correct answer is San Chen.”

Outside the doors, The Doctor, Jack, Ianto and Lynda rushed out of the lift, “Game Room Six, which one is it?” The Doctor asked when faced with several identical doors with no discerning markings.

“Over here!” Lynda showed him, leading them over to the correct door.

Jack tightened his grip on his gun, impatient to get the bloody thing open, “Stand back, let me blast it open.”

“You can’t,” The Doctor told him, trying to get it open with his sonic screwdriver, “it’s made of Hydra combination.”

Inside the game it was the final question, the one that would decide the game, “Rose,” the Anne-Driod asked, “in history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?”

She had no idea but she needed this point if she wanted to draw, get it wrong and Rodrick would win, “Reykjavik?”

The Anne-Driod looked at her with it’s emotionalises eyes as it gave her the results, “No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura.”

“Oh my God!” Rodrick laughed with relief, “I’ve done it!” He sneered, “You’ve lost!”

Outside the doors Ianto watched as the Doctor struggled to get the damn things open, “Come on, come on, come on.”

Rose didn’t know what to do, “But I’m not meant to be here.” She pleaded, “I need to find the Doctor, he’s got to be here somewhere, he’s always here!” She begged, “He wouldn’t just leave me!”

The Anne-Driod just ignored her, “Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits.”

“Oh, thank you,” he was close to tears, “thank you so much.”

“This game is illegal.” Rose shouted as the doors slid open, “I’m telling you to stop!”

“Rose,” The Doctor burst through the doors, her knight in shining armour, “stop this game!” 

“Rose, you leave this life with nothing.” The Anne-Driod didn’t even a knowledge the interruption

Jack pointed his gun at the operators and made his demands, “Stop this game, I order you to stop.” 

“You are the weakest link.”

“Look out for the Anne Droid,” she warned them, “it’s armed!” But it was too late, even as she ran towards the Doctor, the droid shot it’s disintegration beam at her and reduced her to a pile of dust on the floor.

“What the hell did you do to her?” Jack demanded, waving his gun about at the operators as The Doctor collapsed by Rose’s remains, “Back off!” He snarled as security was called, pointing the gun at the guards as they grabbed Ianto and The Doctor, “Don’t you touch him! Leave them alone!”

“Sir,” the security officer pointed his own gun at Ianto’s head while his friend did the same for The Doctor and Lynda, “put down the gun or I’ll have to shoot.”

“You killed her,” Jack threw his weapon to the ground as he screamed at them, “Your stupid freaking game show killed her!”

-

Ianto hoped never to be arrested again, but with the company he kept he knew that was an unrealistic dream. At least Jack and The Doctor were handy in getting out of a cell too. The whole storm upstairs with guns and demand answers idea didn’t really seem like the kind of thing Rose would want them to do but she was dead so Ianto thought they should allow it just this once. He was so tired of watching people he cared about die, though that’s not to say the fight had left him, oh no. He was right there by Jack and The Doctor’s side, a gun in his hands as they stormed floor 500 to get some answers. He just wasn’t expecting to see some woman on a podium with fibre optic filaments coming out of her head and upper torso when they charged through the doors. 

Jack, of course, took it in his stride, “Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear.” Ianto would have to dissect why that commanding tone made him a little bit flustered later, they had a job to do right now, “Stand to the side and stay there.”

“Who’s in charge of this place?” The Doctor demanded, pointing his gun at the strange cable lady who promptly ignored him, “This Satellite’s more than a Game Station,” he demanded, “Who killed Rose Tyler?”

“All staff are reminded,” She muttered instead, “that solar flares occur in delta point one-”

Shouting now, The Doctor pointed his gun violent at her, “I want an answer!”

“She can’t reply.” A weedy voice sounded out to his left as some poor soul stepped forward with his hands up, “Don’t shoot!”

“Oh, don’t be so thick.” The Doctor threw his weapon at the man, “Like I was ever going to shoot. Captain, Ianto, we’ve got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits.”

“On it,” Ianto pulled Jack towards the doors as The Doctor questioned the man instead, “Any idea how to shut this thing down?”

“A few, yeah.” Jack answered without his usual spark, his eyes dull as they locked onto the control panel

Not sure what to do or say, Ianto lifted his hand as if to place it on the other man’s shoulder only to let it fall a few seconds later when he thought better, “Jack, I- thank you for finding me earlier. I don’t know what I would have done.” He settled for instead, “What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“I know,” he spoke quietly, stopping what he was doing for a moment so he could force a sad smile, “and you’re welcome.” He finished what he was doing quickly and called out to The Doc, “Door’s sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes.”

“Keep an eye on them.” The Doctor replied

Moving onto the next set of doors, Jack tried to open an archive only to stop when a woman called out to him, “You’re not allowed in there, archive Six is out of bounds.”

Gesturing to his gun, Jack raised an eyebrow, “Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?”

Ianto almost smiled when Jack opened the door and actually managed a small one when the two of them walked inside the room to find a familiar blue box was waiting for them, “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” He reached out to run his hand over one of the panels while Jack dug out his key, following the man onboard when he heard a muffled exclamation.

“What the hell?”


	35. Hold my hand when it get’s scary

As much as Ianto liked to think himself above average when it came to his intelligence, it was really hard not to feel like the village idiot when The Doctor and Jack started babbling on using vocabulary that hadn’t even been invented in his time. From what he could piece together, the weird lady with the cables coming out of her was the slave to some kind of all powerful alien race, and it was her who had put them in the games because she wanted The Doctor to defeat her masters. Oh, and the disintegrator wasn’t actually a disintegrator but Jack couldn’t exactly take credit for figuring that one out because it was the Tardis who’d told them.

“It’s a transmat beam.” Jack explained as he used Lynda to demonstrate, making her disappear in a puff of smoke only to reappear halfway across the room a second later, “Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don’t get killed in the games, they get transported across space. Doctor,” Jack beamed, “Rose is still alive!”

Laughing as he embraced Jack, The Doctor finally cracked a smile, though his elation didn’t last long. She might be alive but she was still lost, “She’s out there somewhere.”

It was in that moment that the strange cable lady decided to pipe up again, “Doctor,” she called out, “coordinates five point six point one-”

“Don’t,” he warned her, “the solar flare’s gone. They’ll hear you.”

But she paid him no mind, resolute in carrying on, “Point four three four. No, my masters, no!” She cried out, “I defy you! Stigma seven seven-” with an ear piercing scream she disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving her cable to hang from the ceiling without her.

“They took her,” Ianto stared at the space she had stood in, “we don’t even know her name.”

“Ianto, we don’t have time,” The Doctor ran past him to input the coordinates, “I have to find Rose.”

Half a step behind, Jack stood over the Doctor as he tried to locate Rose using the computer, “We didn’t get the final coordinates, she could be anywhere.”

“Here, use this.” Davitch, the man Ianto recognised as being handed The Doctors gun not so long ago, piped up nervously, handing Jack a small information disk,“It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions.”

“Nice,” Jack took he disk and barely spared the man a glance as he hurried to link it up with the system, “thanks. Ianto, give us a hand?”

Eyeing the man who seemed far too interested in looking at Jack’s arse as he bent over to fiddle with the monitor, Ianto cleared his throat and smiled in what he hoped to be a coy manner when Jack turned around to look at him, “Just the one?”

Surprised but pleasantly so, Jack smirked back, “Well, the other one could always-”

“Oi, you two,” The Doctor interrupted, clearly unimpressed, “there’s a time and a place.” 

“Yeah, right,” Ianto shook is head and tried to focus, something and been bugging him, “Doctor? It might be a stupid question but, these creatures, whatever they are. Well, you said they’ve been planning this for a long time, why didn’t we notice when we were here last time?”

“You’ve been here before?” Jack glanced up from what he was doing with confusion, not following.

“Yeah, back when the Jagrafess was here a hundred years ago.” The Doctor nodded, “Someone’s been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations.” None of this made any sense, “Something must be blocking them, making it so we can’t see.”

Making a sound of triumph, Jack held up a small device for the Doctor to take, “Here, try this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system.” All they had to do now was take the Tardis and scoop Rose up, easy.

Only it wasn’t, nothing ever was for them, “There’s nothing there.” The Doctor frowned as a holographic image of desolate space beamed up in front of them, “Where is she? Hang on-” he finally caught up with his brain, “No, that’s what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission there’s another signal, correct?”

“Bingo.” Jack nodded

“Another signal doing what?” Ianto asked, “Hiding something?”

“Give the man a meddle,” The Doctor jabbed his finger at the hologram, “Whoever they are, they’re hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. There’s something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it’s completely invisible. If I cancel the signal-” pulling out his sonic, The Doctor did exactly that and froze at the sight of the ships that were sat there waiting for him, “No.”

“That’s impossible. I know those ships,” Jack’s face dropped, “they were destroyed.”

Cold rage was slowly making it’s way through the Doctors veins as he forced words out between his gritted teeth, “Obviously they survived. Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That’s just about half a million of them.”

“Half a million what?” Davitch asked, blissfully ignorant to the peril he was in at that very moment.

It was Ianto who answered him, pure terror washing over him as he too recognised their ships, hard not to when their inhabitants haunted his nightmares, “Daleks.” 

Now this just wasn’t fucking fair. These bastards had not only haunted him since the fall of Canary Wharf but they had tried to kill him a second time, what, six days ago? A week? Time never passed at a normal rate in the Tardis so he could be sure but what were the chances? 

They were finally going to kill him, all this time he’d been trying to just _go home_ and the Daleks were going to finish him off just like they should have done back in London before he climbed inside The Doctors stupid, wonderful, blue box. There was no way they could fight a whole army of them, they could barely handle one back at Van Statten’s and it had already been near death anyway.

“Ianto?” A familiar voice by his ear sounded but Ianto was too far gone in his panic to take notice, was it just him or was the room getting darker? And the air, yes, the air was definitely getting thinner. It felt like he was dying, was he dying? Were the Daleks killing him? Could he-

Hands, on his arms, he was shaking violently. The voice, in his ear. It was still talking. Lips, touching the side of his head as they moved, an almost kiss to his temple.

Jack.

“Why…” Ianto looked around and saw he was on the floor, Jack sat next to him with a strained smile, “What’s wrong with your face?”

Laughing half heartedly, Jack shook his head, “Nice to have you back with us, can you stand?”

“Yeah,” Ianto let Jack pull him up, feeling his cheeks heat up a little as the other man copped a feel by accident or not, he surprised himself by thinking that he didn’t really mind “I’m fine. Thanks.”

“So, you know the Daleks, huh?” Jack asked, “Do I wanna know?”

“Maybe later,” Ianto dodged, “if we don’t die.”

Before Jack could reassure him that he’d never let that happen, especially to him, the holographic screen he’d set up earlier was overridden by a second transmission, the Daleks were ready to talk, “I will talk to the Doctor.” Their hellish metal droning demanded, a small council of them gathered on the screen.

Ianto didn’t even realise he’d reached for Jack’s hand until he’d taken it, his whole body trembling, “Oh, will you?” The Doctor had no such fear when faced with the monsters, or if he did he was a lot better at hiding them, “That’s nice. Hello!”

“The Dalek stratagem nears completion, the fleet is almost ready.” They demanded, “You will not intervene.”

The Doctor disagreed, “Oh, really? Why’s that, then?”

“We have your associate,” the hologram panned round slightly to reveal a very much alive Rose Tyler being held captive, “you will obey or she will be exterminated.”

“No.” Every head in the room turned to stare at the Doctor

“Explain yourself.” The Dalek ordered

“I said no.” He repeated calmly, which in a way made it even more terrifying.

Another Dalek piped up, “What is the meaning of this negative?”

“It means no.”

“But she will be destroyed.” They threatened, and if there’s one thing you should never do, it is threaten someone The Doctor loves.

_“No!”_ The Doctor stood up dramatically, “Because this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to rescue her.” He told them, voice slowly climbing in volume, “I’m going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then I’m going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I’m going to wipe every last _stinking_ Dalek out of the sky!”

“But you have no weapons,” The Dalek accused, “no defences, no plan.”

“Yeah,” The Doctor agreed, “and doesn’t that scare you to death. Rose?”

“Yes, Doctor?” She asked on the screen, scared but trusting him, always trusting him.

“I’m coming to get you.” He promised


	36. Meet the Emperor

Aboard the alien ship, Rose Tyler watched The Doctors face blink out of existence as he vowed to rescue her and was left in the company of the Daleks once more. While she was glad the disintegrator beam hadn’t killed her, it wasn’t much better being stranded with a ship load of merciless killing machines, “You know the Doctor. You understand him.” The Daleks demanded, “You will predict his actions!”

Remembering all too well that the sucker attachment they had was far more dangerous than it looked, Rose couldn’t help but feel more than a little trepidatious as they started surrounding her, “I don’t know,” She told them, scared but trusting The Doctor would come and get her, “and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Predict!” They screamed metallically, “Predict! Predict!”

“Tardis detected in flight.” One announced in a lower, less shrill tone, “Launch missiles. Exterminate.”

“You can’t! The Tardis hasn’t got any defences,” Rose watched helplessly, unable to do anything, as they launched the weapons at the Tardis, “you’re going to kill him.”

The Daleks turned to her, “You have predicted correctly.”

-

“We’ve got incoming!” Ianto called out from one side of the console as The Doctor and Jack were flipping switches on the other, the Tardis in mid flight as it soared towards the Dalek fleet.

“The extrapolator’s working,” Jack reassured him as they phased out of space at the precise moment the missiles exploded, giving the Daleks the impression they had won, “we’ve got a fully functional forcefield- try saying that when you’re drunk.” 

Glad to still be alive, Ianto thanked any deities that may be listening and tried to keep his focus, he couldn’t afford to spiral again. Jack and The Doctor had obviously had encounters with the Daleks in the past as well and yet he was the only one who seemed so badly affected by their reappearance, if he wanted to be of any use to them he had to keep his head on straight, push down his fear and soldier on.

“And for my next trick.” The Doctor pulled one final leaver and had the Tardis materialise around Rose just as planned, only they got an extra guest they hadn’t be counting on as well.

Seeing Jack lunge for his gun, Ianto shouted out, “Shit, Rose get down!”

But the Dalek managed to fire first, “Exterminate!” Thankfully it missed as Rose ducked for cover, leaving it exposed for Jack to fire back.

The modified defabricator took care of the rest, blowing the Dalek to pieces, “Oh am I glad to see you,” Rose laughed, slightly breathless, throwing herself into the Doctors arms, “you did it.” 

“I told you I’d come and get you.” The Doctor hugged her back, lifting her off her feet slightly in the heat of the moment, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Rose let go and looked him up and down, “You?”

“Not bad,” He told her, “been better.”

Looking over the Doctors shoulder, Rose spotted Ianto and pulled him in for a hug as well, “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she told him, “feels like I haven’t seem you in years.”

“Hey,” Jack broke up their moment when Ianto didn’t say anything and just continued to hug her tightly, “don’t I get a hug?”

Grinning, Rose let go and moved towards him, “Oh, come here!” 

“I was talking to him.” Jack laughed as he got an armful of Rose anyway, “Welcome home.”

“I thought I’d never see you again.” She admitted

Jack would never tell her he’d been afraid of the same thing, they had her back, that’s all that mattered now, “Oh, you were lucky,” He gestured to the defabricator that he’d tossed to the ground, “that was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it’s just a piece of junk.”

Eyes darting to what was left of the Dalek behind them, Rose thought it was a pity they only had the one gun that was effective against them. While she may have had sympathy for the lone Dalek that Van Statten had kept prisoner, the army outside were different. They were dangerous and needed to be stopped, “You said they were extinct,” Rose turned to The Doctor, not understanding, “How comes they’re still alive?”

“One minute they’re the greatest threat in the Universe,” Jack agreed, “the next minute they vanished out of time and space.”

“They went off to fight a bigger war.” The Doctor paused, “The Time War.”

Whilst this meant absolutely nothing to two of the companions on board, Jack at least understood the weight of the Doctors words, “I thought that was just a legend.”

“I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it,” his whole being turned cold, “now it turns out they died for nothing.”

“There’s thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one.” Rose asked, “What’re we going to do?”

Switching from deadly serious to carefree and playful in the blink of an eye, the Doctor gave her a smile, “No good stood round here chin wagging. Human race, you’d gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers,” he walked quickly towards the doors, “Let’s go and meet the neighbours.”

“You can’t go out there!”

The Doctor threw the doors open and stepped outside his ship to a chorus of ‘exterminates’ and incoming fire, “Is that it?” He asked, arms out wide as the Tardis’ forcefield protected him, “Useless! It’s alright,” he called back through the doors, “come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything.”

“Almost anything.” Jack corrected him

“Yes,” The Doctor pulled a face at him, “but I wasn’t going to tell them that. Thanks.”

Wincing as Ianto once gain dug an elbow into his ribs, Jack apologised, “Sorry.” He was going to get a bruise at this rate.

The Doctor accepted his apology and moved on, “Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might’ve removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there’s one little spark left, and that’s fear.” The Doctor asked, “Doesn’t it just burn when you face me? So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?”

“They survived through me.” A deep voice sounded to their left, lights flicking on to reveal a large almost throne like structure with a giant mutant Dalek encased inside.

“Rose, Ianto, Captain,” The Doctor recognised the being for who and what it was, “this is the Emperor of the Daleks.”

“You destroyed us, Doctor.” The emperor declared, “The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive-”

Cutting him off, the Doctor fought the urge to roll his eyes, “I get it.”

“Do not interrupt.” The Daleks around him chorused together in a bone chilling mantra, their shrill voices grating to listen to.

“I think you’re forgetting something. I’m the Doctor, and if there’s one thing I can do, it’s talk.” He rambled, “I’ve got five billion languages, and you haven’t got one way of stopping me. So if anybody’s going to shut up,” he shouted, “it’s you!” he cocked his head to one side with a fake smile, “Okie dokie. So, where were we?”

The emperor wasted no time diving into his evil monologue that Ianto was only half listening to as he stared at the Daleks surrounding them. Why did so many evil beings feel the need to monologue anyway? Surely it made more sense not to reveal your plans to the enemy but then again he shouldn’t complain, the more they knew the better, “We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed.” Ianto felt sick, “They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured.”

“So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead.” The Doctor summarised

Horrified for a whole bunch of new reasons, Ianto shook his head, “That makes them half human.”

“Those words are blasphemy!” The emperor thundered, his loyal army echoing his sentiment blindly, “Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek.”

This wasn’t normal, the Doctor knew the Daleks and nothing about this was right, “Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?”

“I reached into the dirt and made new life.” The emperor claimed, “I am the God of all Daleks!”

“Worship him,” the Daleks praises grew louder as more joined in, “Worship him. Worship him.” 

“They’re insane. Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that’s enough to drive anyone mad,” The Doctor said, “but it’s worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever.” He was done here, they needed to get back to the game station, “We’re going.”

“You may not leave my presence.” The emperor demanded

“Stay where you are,” his army echoed as The Doctor and his companions went back inside the Tardis, “You may not leave, Exterminate!”

-

When the Tardis rematerialised back on the Game Station, Ianto watched everyone filter out through the door and collasped back against the railing to take a few deep breaths once he was sure he was alone. That had been one of the single most terrifying experiences of his life, surrounded by those disgusting creatures had made his skin crawl and he honestly didn’t know if he’d ever be able to sleep again.

His whole body felt like it would never stop shaking and he just wanted everything to stop. No more aliens, no more fighting for his life, no more anything. Somehow it felt like everything was too loud and too quiet at the same time, too bright yet too dark. Part of him wanted to burst into unmanly tears and yet another was fighting for control.

He hated everything about how he was feeling but he couldn’t make it stop.

“Ianto?” Jack poked his head back through the door to see where he was and froze when he saw the other man shaking violently, white as a ghost as he clung the the railing for dear life, “Ianto, are you alright?” He should have known he’d be in a state, the poor guy had almost passed out earlier from the shock and it couldn’t have helped having yet another near miss.

“Jack,” Ianto managed to choke out between forced breaths, ducking his head so he couldn’t see his face, “yeah, I’m fine. Just be a sec.”

“Are you sure?” Approaching slowly, Jack tilted his head to try and take a peek at his face, “because it’s okay if you aren’t-”

“I said I’m fine.” Ianto snapped, scrubbing a hand down his face to discover it wet from tears, looks like he’d lost that battle then, “I just,” he sighed, porting a small smile that looked more like a grimace, “really don’t like the Daleks.”

“Join the club,” Jack chuckled, opening his arms as an invitation, “I never did get that hug.” 

Thankfully Ianto didn’t fight him and succumbed to the cuddle rather quickly, tucking his head into the crook of his neck as Jack held him tight. He could have lost him back there, if he hadn’t shot that Dalek it could have killed Ianto. He’d be dead and there’d be no bringing him back, Jack would not allow that to happen.

“Thanks,” Ianto’s voice was slightly horse as he backed out of the hug, “I think I needed that.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jack squeezed gently, encouraging another quick embrace but Ianto was already pulling away with a look of determination on his face that was equally both sexy and disappointing, “the Doctor’s turned up the transmitters to full power so they won’t be able to transmat onboard, so we should be safe for now.”

“What about everyone on earth?” Ianto asked but Jack’s silence told him more than words could, “Is there no way we can stop them?”

“That’s what we’re working on now,” Jack reassured him, “Come on, with a dashing couple like us on the case, how can we fail?”

“Not a couple,” Ianto corrected as he let Jack drag him out of the blue box, “You haven’t even taken me on a date.”

“Yet,” Jack winked, “how about it then? You, me, dinner, drinks and dancing on Alpha Centauri during the twilight moon festival?” He smiled hopelessly at Ianto as his chest expanded with a warm, fuzzy feeling, “I can see you now, beautiful under the night sky as we dance to their music and toast our glasses to the rest of our lives. You’d love it there Ianto,” he told him, eyes sparkling, “when the second sun sets and the moon rises the sky is lit up by thousands of stars, millions of miles away, twinkling like diamonds up above.”

“That… that sounds wonderful Jack,” Ianto wanted it more than he could ever hope to express, “I’d love to.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Jack promised, holding onto his hand tightly as they made their way over to the Doctor and Rose, “once this is all over, I swear.”


	37. The Emperor Strikes Back

“The Daleks plan, they made a mistake, a big mistake, because what have they left me with?” The Doctor asked, ripping cables out from terminals left right and centre, “Anyone? _Anyone?_ Oh, come on, it’s obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?”

Jack, at least, seemed to be on the same page, “You’ve got to be kidding?” thankfully now with Rose back Ianto didn’t feel too bad for not following since he wasn’t the only one, “A Delta Wave?”

“A Delta Wave!” The Doctor grinned, looking only slightly insane with his arms full of cables, “Give the man a medal.”

Rose and Ianto shared a look, it lasted only a moment but during that time they had an entire debate over who was going to bite the bullet and ask, for once, Ianto won and Rose caved, “What’s a Delta Wave?”

“A wave of Van Cassadyne energy,” Jack explained, “it fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed.”

It might not have been the most technical explanation but a small part of Ianto still found it unfairly attractive, it must be something about the way Jack just knew. He’d have to explore that later, if he survived that is.

“And this place can transmit a massive wave.” The Doctor told them, “Wipe out the Daleks!”

Perfect, Ianto nodded, “Well, we’d better get started then.”

“Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about, oh,” The Doctor guessed, “three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?”

Davitch checked his computer, “Twenty two minutes.”

Well, shit.

That didn’t stop the Doctor from trying though, watching him scramble to come up with a solution was inspiring, even in the face of almost impossible odds Jack knew the timelord would do anything to save Rose. 

Looking over at Ianto who was helping the Doc, he could understand why.

“We’ve now got a forcefield so they can’t blast us out of the sky, but that doesn’t stop the Daleks from physically invading.” Jack told the small group of workers who had stayed behind to fight, “They’ll have worked out we’re trying to build a Delta wave so they’ll want to stop the Doctor. That means they’ve got to get to this level, five hundred. Now,” he explained, “I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, five hundred to four nine five. So they’ll penetrate the station below that at level four nine four and fight their way up.”

“Who are they fighting?” Davitch asked

Jack had thought that was obvious but perhaps not, “Us.”

Ferda raised an eyebrow, “And what are we fighting with?”

“The guards had guns with bastic bullets.” Jack told her confidently, “That’s enough to blow a Dalek wide open.” He hoped.

“There’s five of us.” She deplored 

“Rose,” The Doctor called her over to where he and Ianto were working on the Delta wave, “you can help me. I need all these wires stripping bare.”

“Right,” Ferda sighed as Rose walked away, “now there’s four of us.”

Now Jack wasn’t going to lie, four of them couldn’t do much good but there were a lot of stranded people downstairs that could make all the difference, “Then let’s move it. Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls.”

Watching them run off to do as they were told, Jack knew he had to say his goodbyes first, just in case. As he walked over, he couldn’t help but smile when Ianto looked up at him from the floor. The younger man was surrounded by a bed of half stripped cables, his hair was adorably fluffed up from where he’d run his hands through it and his eyes, oh those eyes should come with a warning, “Jack,” he savoured the way he said it, “what’re you doing?”

“It’s been fun,” he said with a tiny shake of the head, “but I guess this is goodbye.”

Ianto wanted to tell him he was being a first class idiot but Rose beat him to it, “Don’t talk like that. The Doctor’s going to do it,” she said, “you just watch him.” 

“Oh, you bet I will.” Jack flirted, pulling her in for a hug before doing the same with the Doctor, “Wish I’d never met you Doctor, I was much better off as a coward.”

Eyes gliding over to Ianto and then back to Jack again, The Doctor raised his brow, “I don’t think _I_ had much to do with your change of heart.”

He wasn’t wrong, “Ianto, c’mere a sec,” Jack offered him his hand and helped him to his feet so they could talk privately a little way off from Rose and the Doctor, “I just wanted to say… if the Daleks, in case I don’t come back-”

“You’re going downstairs to fight them?” Ianto frowned, glaring at him slightly, “it’s too dangerous, you should stay up here, the Doc could need your help with the Delta wave.”

Jack wasn’t ashamed to admit he almost gave in, Ianto’s eyes were intense as they bore into him and he wanted nothing more than to stay by his side but the people downstairs needed someone to lead them and he knew it had to be him, “Ianto,” Jack trailed his hands up from Ianto’s wrists, fingertips gliding over his arms and shoulders to settle on the nape of his neck, “you are worth fighting for.”

Breath caught in his throat, Ianto closed his eyes as Jack leant forward. This was it, Jack was going to kiss him and this time he was going to kiss him back. He didn’t care if he was a man, a conartist from the future, he didn’t even care that they’d already technically had their first kiss because this was his _real_ first. The first time he’d wanted to more than he could explain, or even try to, and he could already tell it was going to be perfect because it just felt right.

The faint puff of breath on his lips, the building anticipation, just a few more seconds and they’d-

Until Davitch _motherfucking_ Pavale interrupted them, “Jack,” he shouted from the lift, effectively ruining their moment, both men freezing where they stood, “we really should be off!”

“Fucking tosser,” Ianto growled, eyes fluttering open as he pulled away from a distinctly put out looking Jack, “maybe we can shove him out an airlock or something.”

Laughing, slightly breathless even though they hadn’t done anything, Jack once again slipped his hands behind Ianto’s head and tried again, “I’ll see what I can do,” leaning in once more he whispered, “now where were we?”

But it didn’t feel right anymore, he could feel every single pair of eyes in the room on him and it was making his skin crawl, “Um,” putting his hands on Jack’s shoulders to give him a gentle push, Ianto smiled apologetically, “I don’t… everyones…” he sighed, dredging up a smile of his own to try and match Jack’s gentle one, “you owe me a date first, Captain.”

Reluctant to let go, Jack darted forward quickly and planted a chaste kiss to the tip of his nose, “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.” It wasn’t what he had wanted but Ianto’s blush was enough to keep him fighting, “One more for luck?” It couldn’t hurt to try.

“You don’t need luck,” Ianto rolled his eyes, “I’m coming with you.”

“No, absolutely not, it’s too dangerous.” Jack wouldn’t allow it, “You-”

“Oh shut up,” Ianto grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the lift, calling over his shoulder to Rose and the Doctor, “I’ll see you guys later, don’t you go running off without us!”

After being pushed unceremoniously into the lift, Jack gaped at the Welshman as he gave the order to go down, “Ianto! You can’t just-”

“You are, so I am as well.” Ianto told him simply, he might be terrified of the Daleks and the very real possibility that he was going to his death but he wouldn’t let Jack go alone, he deserved so much better than this, “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

-

They set Lynda up on the observation deck after recruiting a few more people from downstairs, the majority had stayed behind even after Jack warned them of the Daleks potentially travelling down instead of up but there was nothing else they could do for them. Their main priority was getting the Doc enough time to build his Delta Wave, whatever the price. 

That meant getting creative with their defences, thankfully, Ianto had a few ideas, “Jack,” he pulled him to a side from where he was handing out guns, “this station, the games were transmatting people all this time right? There’s got to be hundreds of those laser things right?”

“We can use their own weapons against them,” Jack followed his train of thought with a brilliant grin, “Ianto Jones, you’re a genius! Come on, I have an idea.” Leading the way, Jack hurried to the lift and pressed the button for level 407, “Most of the transmat technology is going to take too long to move and override but between the two of us we can shift a few driods. My wrist strap can active them when they’re needed.”

“Yeah,” alone once more, Ianto felt inconvenient butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. Now was not really the time to be thinking about the possibility of what they could get up to since they were alone but then again these could very well be the last couple of hours he had to live, “right.”

“Y’know,” Jack stated, gesturing to his vortex manipulator, “there’s something else it could do. It could take us away.” He told him, “we could leave and let history take its course. Go on that date.”

Ianto shook his head, “Yeah, but you won’t do that.”

Sighing, Jack leant back against the side of the lift, “No, I would have done before I met you though. The old me, he’d be out of here before you could say ‘impending fleet’.” He laughed under his breath and gave Ianto an almost pleasing look, “You could ask though. The thought never even occurred to you did it?”

“Are you kidding me?” Ianto laughed over his shoulder as he walked out of the opening lift doors, “I’m one more breakdown away from stealing that fancy bracelet of yours for myself and hightailing it out of here.”

“Ha,” Jack barked out a laugh, a real one this time, and enjoyed the view walking a few paces behind Ianto, “good luck with that.”

-

The Doctor worked silently on the Delta wave even if he knew what he was doing was wrong, Rose was safe, he kept repeating to himself, she was safe back home so he could do what had to be done. She would live while billions would die but none of that mattered. What were a few billion to save trillions? 

But what right did he have to make that decision?

“Rose,” Ianto’s voice sounded over the intercom, “Jack needs something called internal laser codes? Told me to get them from you, said there should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to us?”

“She’s not here.” The Doctor told him, looking up at the holographic image as Jack joined Ianto on the screen. He should have sent them back too but he hadn’t thought, his first priory was Rose and they had to have known that, they wouldn’t hold it against him surely?

Not that it mattered, they’d both be dead soon if he got this ting working.

“Of all the times to take a leak.” Jack joked on the screen, “when she gets back, tell her to read me the codes.”

“She’s not coming back.” The Doctor told them, breaking eye contact as he continued with his work, it had to be done. It wasn’t his fault.

“What do you mean?” Jack frowned, “Where’d she go?”

Glaring harshly at the cables in front of him, The Doctor snapped, “Just get on with your work.”

A small hum sounded as Ianto clued in, “You took her home, didn’t you?” It wasn’t an accusation as such, more of a realisation.

“Yeah.” The Doctor looked up again to see the two of them sharing a worried glance

“The Delta Wave,” Jack asked him, “is it ever going to be ready?”

And that’s when their signal was hijacked by the emperor, his deep Dalek monotone answering for the timelord, “Tell them the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it.” He accused, “The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path, with no distinction between human and Dalek.” The emperor told him, “All things will die by your hand.”

“Doctor,” Jack warned him even though he must have already known, “the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth.”

“You would destroy Daleks and Humans together.” The emperor asked, “If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?”

“There are colonies out there,” the Doctor was desperate, they could hear it in his voice, “the Human Race would survive in some shape or form, but you’re the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if I let you live.” Almost begging, the Doctor needed to hear he wasn’t doing the wrong thing, “Don’t you see Ianto, Jack? That’s the decision I’ve got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek.” He needed to know, they had to tell him, “What would you do?”

“You sent her home.” Ianto swallowed, trying to be brave, “She’s safe, keep working.”

“But he will exterminate you!” The emperor bellowed

“Never doubted him,” Jack smirked, trying to cover up for Ianto’s silence, “never will.”

Smiling back, the Doctor watched Ianto and Jack get back to work as if they hadn't just heard their death sentence and finally saw something in both of them that made him pause for a moment. They truly were fantastic in every sense of the word, they deserved so much better, “Now, you tell me, God of all Daleks,” he knew he couldn’t think about the two of them for long or it would make what he had to do next all the more difficult. He just hoped it would be over quick for them, “because there’s one thing I never worked out. The words Bad Wolf, spread across time and space, everywhere, drawing me in. How’d you manage that?”

Of course, the emperor denied it, “I did nothing.”

“Oh, come on,” the Doctor goaded, “there’s no secrets now, your worship.”

Strangely though, he didn’t think he was lying, “They are not part of my design.” The emperor claimed, “This is the Truth of God.”


	38. Extermination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we’re finally here with the last chapter! I must have rewritten this thing half a dozen times :) please let me know what you think, I’m sure a couple of you are going to have a few choice words for me!

Ianto was sticking to his side like spots on dice but Jack wasn’t complaining, it felt good to be able to look up and see the other man close by even if a part of him wished that the Doc had sent him back home too. Jack would do everything in his power to make sure Ianto got through this, he wouldn’t allow him to fall, not when he was there to prop him back up again, “Right, Lynda, you are my eyes and ears. When the Dalek’s get in, you can follow it on that screen and report it to me.” The observation deck was a good a place as any to keep Lynda, she’d be safe with enough luck.

Paying close attention, Lynda nodded, “Understood.”

“They’ll detect you but the door’s made of Hydra Combination,” Jack told her, “It should keep them out.”

“Should?” she asked, not sounding too hopeful about that.

“It’s the best I can do.” He glanced over at Ianto as he fiddled with the screen, “How long till the Fleet arrives?”

Thankfully the chip in his head had been doing most the work for him and pulled up the countdown, “They’ve accelerated.” Ianto worried his bottom lip and pushed away from the computer, “We’ve got less than 5 minutes”

“This is it, ladies and gentlemen,” Jack announced over the communication links, “we are at war.” Dalek’s began streaming out of their ships, unaffected by the vacuum of space as they soared towards the Game Station, “Stand your ground, everyone,” Jack checked the bullets in his gun and nodded at the men he’d gathered, “follow my commands and good luck.”

Still holding out hope for a last minute rescue from the Doctor, Ianto told himself that the timelord had made him think he was going to die plenty of times in the past, before saving him at the last minute. He needed to believe he might survive or else he’d give up the fight before it even began.

_“You were right.”_ Lynda told them from the observation deck, _“They’re forcing the airlock on four nine four.”_

The whole satellite shook as the Dalek’s streamed in, one by one invading the station as the human race got ready to fight, “Okay, activate internal lasers,” Jack gave his orders, “slice them up.”

The internal lasers were activated but nothing happened, the Dalek’s rolled right on through without a scratch on them, forcing Jack to grab Ianto by the hand and haul him upstairs to safety, _“Defences have gone offline.”_ Lynda reported, _“The Dalek’s have overridden the lot.”_

The volunteers left behind manned their posts, weapons gripped in sweaty palms as their hearts pounded frantically in their chests. Ianto heard the gunshots and the screams as he let Jack drag him away, he’d heard the soundtrack so often by now he thought he’d be immune but it still cut as deep as it did that first day. 

_“You lied to me!”_ A woman screamed over the intercom as the sound of bullets and death rioted behind her, _“The bullets don’t wor-!”_

“Keep going,” Ianto shoved at Jack as he stopped, they needed to go up, “Jack, come on.” Looks like it was his turn to do the dragging now as Jack stayed stock still.

Sealing the lift behind them, Ianto let out a breath of relief as they started moving, “Jack, Ianto,” it was the Doc, “How’re we doing?”

“Four nine five should be good.” Ianto told him, thinking about the traps they passed on the way up here, “We like four nine five.” The Dalek’s stood no chance against the Anne-Droids.

Lynda’s voice echoed around the lift as the two men waited nervously, _“It’s working,”_ she reported, _“the droids are blowing them up!”_ A hollow victory seeing as they had just slaughtered the volunteers that had stayed behind, _“Hang on,”_ Ianto groaned low in his throat at that, not wanting to hear the inevitable bad news coming their way,_ “They’re flying up the ventilation shafts -no, wait a minute,”_ she told them with horror, _“oh my God. Why’re they doing that? They’re going down.”_

Darting out of the lift as it stopped on floor 499, Jack followed Ianto to the computer and watched over his shoulder as he tapped into the sensors. Watching as the life signs below started to drop, Ianto cursed, unable to do anything to save them as their red dots blinked out of existence, “Fuck,” he slammed his fist against the wall and fought back the urge to storm down their to vent his fury out on the bastards with his bare hands, “floor Zero,” he turned to Jack with a heavy heart, “they killed them all.”

“There’s nothing we can do for them now,” Jack took one of the guns from his shoulder and put it in Ianto’s hands, “we need to buy the Doctor some more time to get the delta wave working, it’s our only hope to save the Earth.”

“Save the cheerleader, save the world,” Ianto blurted, shrugging when Jack gave him a confused look, “doesn’t matter.” Now really wasn’t he time to discuss 21st century pop culture after all.

“Okay,” Jack decided not to ask as he took a deep breath and made his decision, “follow me.” He knew what he had to do, he just wished it wouldn’t be so hard.

Passing the men and women mounting the last line of defence, Ianto frowned but did as Jack said, “What are we doing back here? The Dalek’s-”

“Trust me.” Jack closed the distance between them quickly, not really giving Ianto time to react before leaning in for a kiss.

It wasn’t perfect, their nose’s were ill positioned and it was a little rough for Ianto’s liking but by god was it amazing. He was surrounded by Jack, every inch of his body was hyper aware of where they touched, his senses were overloaded by the man and it felt like he could drown in it all, but if this was drowning he never wanted to breathe again.

When Jack pulled away Ianto was expecting to see a cheeky grin or that infuriating smirk, if he’d not been so completely dazed he might have realised sooner that the smile on Jack’s face was one of sadness and not joy, “Ianto,” Jack took a step back and the other man had no time to react before the lift doors were closing in front of him, “I’m sorry.”

Jolted out of his haze, Ianto lurched forward and slammed his open palms against the doors, “Jack! Open the doors!” But it was too late, he was already going up, Jack had sent him away. The controls weren’t working either, he must have overridden them with his wrist strap, but when? Ianto hadn’t even realised he’d been backed into the lift while they kissed, that was just playing dirty. 

Joining the men and women manning the last line of defence once more, Jack felt a wave of calm wash over him, if he were to die here today he would die content to know that Ianto was safe upstairs with the Doctor, he trusted him to keep him safe, “Alright everyone, listen up,” he gave out some last minute advice, “the bullets should work if you concentrate them on the Dalek’s eyestalk. I’ve got the forcefield at maximum so Dalek fire power should be at its weakest.” Taking position as the doors shuddered open, Jack tightened his grip on his gun and gave the order, “Open fire!”

“It’s not working!” Davitch yelled over the gunfire as the Dalek’s advanced without a scratch.

“Concentrate your fire!” Jack ordered, switching targets as one Dalek got dangerously close, “Eyestalk, two o’clock!”

“My vision is impaired!” The Dalek sounded panicked, “I cannot see!”

“We did it!” Ferda cheered, leaning just that little bit too far over the barrier and making herself a target. The Daleks didn’t hesitate to exterminate her in turn.

“No!” Davitch cried even as Jack shouted a warning, jumping up to fire over the top of his cover, “No!” He was next to join her on the list of the dead. 

-

Upstairs, Ianto wasted no time bursting from the lift on floor 500 to find the Doctor, “Give me your screwdriver,” he skidded to a halt where the Doctor was hastily trying to build some sort of detonator, “Your sonic screwdriver, I need it!”

“Hello to you too,” The Doctor frowned, “I’m busy Ianto-”

“Oh my god, _just hand it over!_” Ianto was seconds away from tackling the man to the ground and taking it by force, “I need to override the lift controls, Jack locked me out.”

_“I’ve got a problem,”_ Lynda’s voice interrupted them, _“they’ve found me.”_

“You’ll be all right, Lynda,” The Doctor told her as he begrudgingly dug his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, “that side of the station’s reinforced against meteors.”

“Hope so!” She told him, “You know what they say about Earth workmanship.”

Snatching the offered screwdriver, Ianto locked eyes with the man who had both saved his life and ruined it all in one fell swoop, “Goodbye Doctor.” He didn’t wait for the man to respond, simply breaking out into a run back towards the lift, Jack couldn’t get rid of him that easily.

He almost tripped over himself trying to stop at the doors, it was now or never. Pointing the sonic screwdriver at the control panel, Ianto begged and pleaded for it to work, screaming in his head for it to somehow unlock the controls and take him back downstairs. He faintly registered Lynda scream over the coms, just once, before they fell silent again but at the same time his head was full of a whirling buzz that only came with the Doctors sonic. He was about to give up when the lift creaked back to life, the doors slamming shut as they took him back down, whatever he’d done it looked like it had worked.

-

“Last man standing!” Jack shouted as the Daleks backed him down the corridor, “For God’s sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!” The bullets weren’t working but he’d rather die with a gun in his hands, putting up a fight, than just give up, “Doctor, you’ve got twenty seconds maximum!”

Gun empty, Jack tossed it aside and reached for his pistol, emptying that as well as he reached the end of the line, three Dalek’s in front of him and no way out, “You will be exterminated!”

God, this was really it. After all this time, all he’d known was the fight and now he was at the end of it, the raids on his home planet when he was just a boy, the brutality of the time agency when he’d run away and now he faced a fleet made up of the stuff of nightmares with an empty pistol as his only defence, “I kind of figured that.” Arms extended, Jack closed his eyes and waited for the shot to end him.

But it never came.

Instead the lift doors whooshed open over his shoulder him and a heavy weight collided with him from behind, arms wrapped around his torso and span him around, the momentum forcing him to topple slightly as the Daleks fired, “Jack!” A familiar voice crying out in his ear.

Eyes snapping open with horror, Jack’s arms came up to cradle the body that had slammed into his own, Ianto Jones lay dead in his embrace.

Collapsing to the ground, Jack couldn’t believe his eyes, what he was seeing couldn’t be real but it was. Ianto had saved his life but at what cost?

“Ianto,” Jack shook him but his unseeing blue eyes didn’t flicker, he was dead, unmoving and empty. Why did he have to take the shot that was meant for him?

The Dalek sounded once more, “Exterminate.”

Tearing his eyes away from the body in his arms, Jack glared at the Daleks with twin pools of hatred, “You killed him!”

“Exterminate!” They chorused

“_You Bastards killed him._” Jack roared back, ready to climb to his feet and launch himself at them. He’d rip the fuckers apart with his bare hands if that’s what it took.

They never gave him a chance though, taking aim and firing once more, “Exterminate!” with one more shot Jack joined Ianto slouched on the floor like a puppet with his strings cut, united once more in death.

-

“You really want to think about this,” The Doctor warned as Daleks surrounded him on all sides, clutching the detonator for the delta wave tightly in both hands, “because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies.”

“I am immortal.” The Emperor boomed over the visual link.

The Doctor licked his lips, “Do you want to put that to the test?”

“I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor,” The Emperor taunted him, “the Great Exterminator.”

“I’ll do it!” He threatened.

The Emperor wasn’t phased, “Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you,” he asked, “coward or killer?”

Grip tightening, The Doctor tried but it was no use, “Coward,” he released the detonator, unable to do it, “any day.” 

“Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness.” The Emperor told him.

Defeated, the Doctor asked, “And what about me?” He couldn’t do it, not again, “Am I becoming one of your angels?”

“You are the heathen.” The Emperor declared, “You will be exterminated.”

“Maybe it’s time.” He closed his eyes, just as Jack had done mere minutes ago, ready to face his death. Only, he got a last minute, last ditch attempt at a rescue too.

The Tardis materialised behind him, his precious ship returned to his side, but as the doors swung open to reveal bright golden light he knew something was wrong. Rose stepped out but she wasn’t just Rose anymore, blinding golden energy tendrils were snaking outwards all around her, reaching out like sirens in the night.

“What’ve you done?” He already knew, he just didn’t want to believe it.

“I looked into the Tardis,” Rose’s eyes met his own, golden energy swirling inside them like a thousand burning galaxies, “and the Tardis looked into me.”

“You looked into the Time Vortex,” The Doctor warned her, “Rose, no one’s meant to see that.”

“This is an Abomination!” The Emperor accused, ordering his loyal soldiers to exterminate her but Rose stopped the beam with the palm of her hand. Unsigned, undamaged and still very much alive.

“I am the Bad Wolf.” She told them, “I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here.”

“Rose, you’ve got to stop this. You’ve got to stop this now,” the Doctor pleaded with her, his eyes stinging with unshed tears, “You’ve got the entire vortex running through your head. You’re going to burn!”

“I want you safe,” she finally looked back at him, her golden eyes almost softening but she wasn’t his Rose, she was so much more, “My Doctor, protected from the false god.”

“You cannot hurt me.” The Emperor demanded, “I am immortal.”

Enraged once more, Rose raised her hands, “You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them.” She turned the Daleks to dust, destroying their entire fleet with a single thought, “Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies, the Time War ends.”

“Rose, you’ve done it. Now stop,” the Doctor got to his feet as he begged, “just let go.”

“How can I let go of this?” Tears slowly started to run down her cheeks as she breathed, “I bring life.” Downstairs, underneath their very feet two twin gasps filled the air as Ianto and Jack clung to each other frantically on the floor.

“But this is wrong!” The Doctor argued with her, “You can’t control life and death.”

“But I can, the sun and the moon, the day and night.” She cried, “But why do they hurt? I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be.”

“That’s what I see. All the time,” The Doctor reached out, “And doesn’t it drive you mad?”

Taking his hands, Rose shook, “My head,” she cried, “It’s killing me.”

Pulling her close, The Doctor tipped her head up, “I think you need a Doctor.” Leaning in for a kiss the Doctor let the golden energy transfer from her to him, catching her as she fainted in his arms and released the forest energy back into the Tardis once more. 

He didn’t have much time, he could feel his body starting to fail and the two pounding beacons of wrongness were growing closer with every passing second. Whatever Rose had done, it was making his skin crawl and The Doctor didn’t hesitate to get her back inside the Tardis and fly away.

Running was what he did best after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hope you liked it so far, please feel free to leave a comment, constructive criticism is always welcome and I love hearing what you think :)


End file.
